


You are one of a kind

by RoseCherry



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Eleven is such a nice sister, F/M, Mike Wheeler is a great friend, Nice popular girl, Will Byers is a cutie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-04-13 13:17:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14113155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseCherry/pseuds/RoseCherry
Summary: Jennifer Hayes is a cute popular girl in love, Will Byers is your typical nerdy and shy kid with a mysterious past. Can she make the boy of her dreams turn to look her way? Or is it imposible after all?





	1. Chapter 1

Jennifer Hayes is in love, and she has been for a few years now, if she where to say when it all began it has to be: November 11, 1983 the day Will Byers funeral was held. Well she didn’t fell in love that day exactly I mean come on! It was a funeral, if there is a thing she remembers about that day in general was her non-stop crying .But that’s when it all started something changed inside of her and it stills remains imprinted in her heart.

She wasn’t Will Byers friend, not even close to it, but his sudden disappearance and death made a huge impact in her life, she all but wondered how such a terrible tragedy could strike a nice kid like him. A kid who even though was nerdy and shy did no harm to anyone whatsoever. Top student, AV club member, (perfect target for bullies like Troy). Aside from talking to his nerdy friends most of the time he just kept to himself.

The first time she noticed Will’s presence they were both in the sixth grade, a year before he “died”. He was animatedly talking with his best friend Mike Wheeler about some stupid science trivia facts outside  the school’s bleachers where she was casually passing by, he had caught her boringly staring at him before he blushed and looked away. “What a dork” she thought, but that was about it, she didn’t spare him a second glance after that.

Then Middle School started and the next thing she knew Will Byers disappeared and was found dead a few days later. Her heart broke with the news, she couldn’t understand why it hurt so much, but it did.

After the funeral when she was in the quiet of her room she found herself meditating about her life, it was perfect, an only child her mom and dad spoiled her to no end, everyone at school called her _social butterfly_ she was part of the so called “popular clique” a happy go lucky bubbly girl, who owned tons of pretty dresses, and had many friends. So why? Why did she felt so miserable at the time?

Maybe it was the fact that a kid her age was all of a sudden inexplicably dead. Jennifer remembered thinking about the unfairness of it all, how sad and broken Joyce Byers seemed, how the sadness surrounding them made its way inside of her chest, making it difficult to breathe.

So in the quiet inside of her big and beautiful princess like room looking at her happy face in all those family pictures she had by her bedside table she thought how bratty and ungrateful she had been all her life till that day. She had a family that loved her to the moon and back. A father who did everything in his power to put a smile on her face and a protective and attentive mother. But she was spoiled and unbelievingly bratty and failed to treasure the important things in life.

So even though she was only 12 years old at the time that day represented something special for her, it marked the beginning of a change. A change she’ll embrace forever.

Being honest with herself it was all thanks to Will Byers, she decided that even if the boy was dead and they didn’t had the opportunity to befriend each other she’ll forever remember him no matter what.

Or that’s what she thought…

 A couple of weeks later, Will Byers returned to school, to say she was shocked is an understatement but she certainly didn’t act like a total asshole about it, calling him “Zombie Boy” and all those stupid names. Sure she was surprised, the whole town buried him, but then again, why would she be mad about the fact that he was alive and everything had been a huge mistake? That the body they found, wasn’t his but someone else’s? She was happy and grateful that his family had him back, that his friends had him back, it made her feel unbelievingly happy. She planned on using his return to her advantage to finally speak a word or two to him, since she regretted not talking to him before… but she never did.

Still, there was something she became an expert at, she mastered the act of stalking Will Byers and as creepy as it sounds she was proud of it. She knew nothing about him, but she was sure as hell that something about him changed entirely he had a mystic aura surrounding him. He didn’t smile, looked paranoid and his friends couldn’t do anything for him. He looked sad and broken, but if his friends couldn’t do anything to reach out for him then there was nothing she could do to help him out, or at least that’s what she tried to convince herself about. Truth was she was afraid, of what exactly? At that time she didn’t know. But thinking about talking to him triggered her anxiety and her heart started to beat faster every single time, so she stopped trying to do so.

 Instead Jennifer made it her personal hobby to observe him daily, and soon she started noticing everything about him, the way he dressed, the way he walked, the way he talked to his friends, everything. She knew Will Byers wasn’t doing ok, but she admired how hard he tried to pretend he was. And her heart beat faster at that too.

She knew Mike Wheeler knew that his best friend wasn’t doing ok, but the boy looked broken himself, though it seemed to be for a very different reason.

It took a while but Will did get better, he smiled more and started opening back to his friends, Mike also seemed better, the boys hanged out together even more than they did before, their friendship felt different, in a brotherly kind of way, and it made her happy. His small group of friends started growing, first came feisty red- haired Max, and finally in their last Middle School year Jane Hopper arrived. She was perfectly fitted for the group as if she already knew them, she was always close to Mike and it was easy to figure out they liked each other. Her dynamic inside their friends group worked perfectly she got along with them all, but specially bonded with Will.

Jennifer didn’t know why she felt bothered by the fact that Jane and Will got along that well, maybe it was because she still hadn’t spoken to him once even though she really wanted too. But it wasn’t until the news about Chief Jim Hopper marrying Joyce Byers at end of the school year that she understood what had been going on with her all along, when she overheard Dustin chatting with Lucas about how great it was that Jane and Will where officially siblings, she found herself releasing a sigh she didn’t know was holding.

Jealous, all that time she had been jealous, she knew perfectly well Mike and Jane had a thing going on, but the girl still managed to talk and bond with Will in a special way, she talked so casually with him, Her Will. And it was that train of thoughts that made her realize something important. She was in love, and felt happy about it.

 Middle School ended, High school started and she still hasn’t spoken a word to him but couldn’t care less. Pure happiness. Everyday that’s what she feels. Knowing exactly what her feelings are makes her heart flip in a nice kind of way.


	2. The best day ever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected turn of events

It was Monday morning after a long refreshing weekend, Jennifer was making her way to the school’s cafeteria searching for her two best friends Judy and Stacey. She didn’t share any of her morning classes with them, so they agreed on meeting up early to chat.  
“Hey There Girls” She greeted as soon as she spotted them  
They were both chatting enthusiastically among themselves seated at a nearby table  
“Jenn! How was the family trip?” asked Judy  
“Bet you saw tons of hot guys out there” said Stacey  
“Trip was fine, I had lots of fun thanks! And oh my God Stacey I went camping with my parents, what hot guy was I supposed to see?” replied a laughing Jennifer while seating at the table.  
“Whatever it’s not like it matters for you anyway, you wouldn’t be able to spot a hot guy even if he stands in front of you”  
“What do you mean?”  
“What Stacey is trying to say honey is that your taste in boys is…different”  
“How mean hahaha, I’m telling you girls, Will Byers is a real cutie you just fail to notice”  
“Sure he is” Both sarcastically said at the same time  
“Speaking of the devil, he and his nerdy party arrived early today” said Stacey  
“It’s Monday they have AV club activities” replied Jennifer  
“Right, let’s skip the fact that you creepily know all of his daily schedule and let’s get into the important matters, Jenn are you doing the cheerleading trials?” asked Judy  
The trials, Jennifer completely forgot about them the whole weekend, honestly it was something she didn’t want to think about, and it’s not that she didn’t like cheerleading, she totally loves it. In fact she was on the team throughout her Middle School years. However been on the team means she’ll have to spend time with the football players, and that is something she is very hard trying to avoid thank you very much.  
“About that… sorry girls but I think I’ll pass”  
“What?” Asked a surprised Stacey  
“No way princess! I know that face, you just want to avoid crossing paths with Paul Jensen” Judy exclaimed  
“Is it wrong to want to avoid that guy? Girls! He freaks me out!”  
“Jennifer, there really is nothing to be afraid of trust me on this”  
“Haven’t you seen him Jude? He is unbearably pushy”  
“Jenn not doing the trials because of a boy is really stupid, besides is not like you’ll have him bothering you forever, just give him what he wants and problem solved”  
“What? Ok Stacey! You are so not helping here, don’t listen to her Jenn”  
“I’m just stating facts”  
“No you are not! Jennifer is not like you Stace”  
“Girls it’s ok, I understand what you are trying to get at Stace, and you do have a point but unfortunately what he wants from me is something I can’t do”  
“And you shouldn’t feel obliged to do so, the guy is a first class idiot” exclaimed Judy  
“Ok, ok chill out girls, I’m not trying to force you into doing something you don’t want to Jenn, all I’m saying is, that if the reason you are not doing the trials is because of a stupid guy like Paul then is not worth quitting for!”  
Jennifer was about to reply when the bell signaling the start of classes rang  
“You really should think carefully about it Jenn, you have till the end of the day to decide, besides the uniform will totally suit you, you’ll look like a bombshell, your golden hair and green eyes will stand out!” Judy exclaimed before she left with Stacey for first period.  
While she was in her first period English class, Jennifer found herself thinking about the conversation she just had with her friends, they were right! She shouldn’t be quitting cheerleading because of a stupid guy like Paul Jensen, then again, was that the only reason?  
Jennifer had always been part of the “popular clique” she was nice and talked to everyone (Not Will related) however as she grew older things started to turn a different route, especially with boys, Most of the popular crowd consisted of rich and spoiled brats who thought they deserved the world, meaning they were idiots, guys slept with different girls almost on a daily basis, girls didn’t have self-respect either, so it was normal for Jennifer to be approached by guys with those intentions in mind no matter how many times she rejects them, she was different, and everyone knew that, so in the popular guild she was kind of a bet “whoever can make Jennifer Hayes spend the night with him wins”.  
Truth to be told she was sick of it all, why is her virginity a crime? Why is it wrong to not have kissed anyone before?  
The more she thought about it the more she convinced herself that she was making the right choice, she shouldn’t join the cheerleading team.  
“Sorry we are late Mrs. Lila”  
She heard Mike Wheeler’s voice exclaimed as he banged the door open and entered the classroom with Will following behind him  
“Take a sit boys we are almost starting” answered Mrs. Lila  
With the morning hustle Jennifer forgot she shares first period with Will Byers, Soon a smile made its way to her face.  
“Will would never judge me” she thought  
Of course he wouldn’t! He is nice and cute and shy and chivalrous, for her Will Byers was the definition of perfect.  
With him sitting on the front row and her sitting way in the back, she couldn’t help but look at him as she always does. He has changed from when they were in Middle School, he was taller now (even though he still remained short compared to his friends) he sure has grown, his hair, while back in Middle School he used to have a bowl cut, he now uses hair gel to style it in a messy kind of way. How cute!  
Because that’s how it is, Will Byers owns the definition of cute, you know how some guys are what you can call hot and handsome. For Jennifer none of that actually describes Will, his face is way to pretty, and his clothes way to nerdy, with his button shirts and all that.  
When she is observing Will time goes by faster, soon English period was over. Which was a shame because she doesn’t get to share another class with him till later in the afternoon for Art, the last class of the day.  
The rest of her day went by as it normally does, meeting with her friends for lunch (where she informed them about her final decision regarding the trials.) And before she knew it, she was already in Art class for last period.  
Will was sitting on the front row (again) and she was at the back, staring at him (again)  
“When will I ever stop acting this way” she thought  
Mr. Abel was explaining about something called “Dry Brushing” and how to give a drawing the perfect effect but she really wasn’t paying attention, she sucked at art, she couldn’t even draw a normal stick figure much less create a master piece like the ones he was talking about. The bell rang sooner than later (thank God).  
She was packing her stuff as quickly as possible, needing to get out of school before one of her friends found her and made her do the trials. Running as fast as she could, it wasn’t until she was almost at the entrance that she noticed she left her Math notebook inside the classroom  
“Crap” she said  
She ran the whole way back, only to find Will Byers alone in the classroom, peeking inside her math notebook.  
She froze dead on her tracks  
Normally that shouldn’t represent a problem, quite the opposite actually, this was her chance, the chance to finally speak a word to her forever crush even if it was just to ask for her notebook back.  
But there was a problem sadly, because inside her notebook she had written all kind of embarrassing things, the “Oh my God Will is so cute” or “Jennifer Byers”, kind of things.  
What made the current situation worst?  
That he was in fact reading one of those embarrassing things, she didn’t know exactly what page, but she just knew, from her distance she could distinguish the colorful hearts she is so used to draw.  
When he did notice her presence he closed the notebook, his expression unreadable for her, or maybe she was just too ashamed to notice something.  
“Sorry this is yours right? I just wanted to see who the owner was” he said  
“I-I ye- yes its mine!”  
Before she knew it, out of pure instinct she snatched the notebook out of his hands, and was about to run out for dear life when she heard Will calling her name.  
“Wait Jennifer!”  
And when she turned, she saw the cutest expression ever, Will’s cheeks, were tinted red, and he was kindly smiling at her.  
She swore she was melting in the spot.  
He grabbed a little piece of paper from his backpack, and quickly wrote something down before handing it to her.  
It wasn’t until he left the classroom that she had the courage to read what was written, and boy was she surprised at what she got.  
In the prettiest handwriting ever, the words you are way cuter than me were imprinted.  
This was officially the best day of her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :)


	3. Will

“What in the world have I done?”   
It was a brand new day, the sun shining bright… and Will Byers was feeling like trash, he was sure it had nothing to do with his fever though, he wished it were that easy, but waking up feeling sick was (sadly) nothing new. No, it had nothing to do with that, instead he was sure as hell that it was due to the fact that he had done the most embarrassing thing ever the day before.   
The words you are way cuter than me, were still spinning circles around his head, that stupid little piece of paper! Like, Why? Why would he do that? Who on his right mind would write those words down and oh so casually hand it over a girl?  
“And not just any girl” he thought, No of course not! It couldn’t have been to any other girl, it had to be Jennifer Hayes.   
What was wrong with him? He is not like that, he wanted to understand what in the world possessed him into doing something so stupid, but thinking about that was making him dizzy, and it was so not helping his current headache.  
“Ugh just kill me already” he shouted to no one in particular  
“Hey, and where’s the fun in that?” answered Jonathan as soon as he entered the room  
Will didn’t even noticed when he opened the door  
“Shut up Jonathan, I’m really not in the mood for this” He said while falling back to his bed  
“Someone woke up a tiny bit grumpy huh? Listen squirt, if it’s about what happened with that girl Jennifer yesterday I wouldn’t be worrying about it”  
“How do you know?”  
“El”  
“And how does she... Forget it, I’ll never trust Mike again, he is a traitor”  
“You were gonna tell us anyway”  
“Yeah but! Ugh just forget it”   
Will really wasn’t in the mood for this, all he wanted to do was sleep. And maybe take that ridiculous smirk off Jonathan’s face, he was really pissing him off.  
Instead of leaving, Jonathan sat on the bed just beside him, and reached a hand out to touch his forehead  
“You are burning up” he said  
“What a surprise” Will answered  
“Hey, Will listen up bro, it’s not that bad”  
“Are you talking about my fever here?”  
“I’m not, listen, stop mortifying yourself about that letter, it’s not a big deal”  
“It is Jonathan!”  
“Why?”  
“Because it is!”   
Jonathan can be so frustrating sometimes he thought  
“Isn’t this like an opportunity for you? You like her don’t you? So use this to your favor and keep on flirting with her”  
“What? Flirting? Are you nuts! I don’t even know how to do that” He said  
“Uhhh Will? You literally told her she is cute, that totally counts as flirting”  
Will looked at Jonathan as if he popped a third eye all of sudden, Did he, Will Byers Flirted with Jennifer Hayes? No freaking way! He must be on drugs because there’s no way that’s possible, he wasn’t even able to look at her face without blushing for God’s Sake!  
“No way”   
“Congrats bro, you mastered the arts of flirting! And with a popular girl! That’s pretty cool for a first timer I must say”  
Will swore his head was about to explode, steam was coming out his ears  
“I-I haven’t mastered anything” This conversation was making Will feel really self-conscious   
“She likes you too you know”  
Okay this was way too much for him to process all at once  
“She doesn’t likes me!” Will exclaimed  
“Will are you serious? She literally has “Will Byers is cute” written on her notebook of coarse she does!”  
Ugh Mike! Thought Will. He couldn’t believe it! He didn’t left a single detail behind   
“That she has that written down doesn’t necessarily means she likes me”  
“Yeah, just like you writing the same thing down doesn’t mean anything either” Jonathan sarcastically answered  
Will really didn’t know what to make out of this conversation, the only thing he really was sure of it’s that never in his life had he blushed so hard.  
Jonathan saw his brother’s discomfort and thought enough was enough (he had his own share of laugh anyway)  
“hahaha ok you know what? I’ll tell mom you are sick, don’t go to school today, it’ll be better for you to stay put”   
“Yes please! Thanks Jonathan”  
“You are welcome buddy, oh and Will? Don’t overthink too much ok? Try to get some sleep”  
“I’ll try”  
Jonathan left closing the door behind him leaving Will in the solitude of his room  
Just what did I get myself into? He thought resting his head on top of the soft pillows in his bed, truth to be told he doesn’t really know how to act in front of her (not that he sees her that much) but still? It’s frustrating, because he in fact does likes her and now she knows that he likes her, well he assumes she does, and that just complicates everything because.. Well he thought he was doing well with hiding his feelings all along. He has liked Jennifer for a few years now, ever since Middle School, there has always been something about her that was just oh so very attractive.  
At first, before he went missing back in 83, He thought she was just another popular girl with a pretty face and rich parents, he and his friends weren’t particularly fond of the “popular clique”, boys treated them like freaks, and girls weren’t nice to them either. But hey! They were able to recognize a pretty girl when they saw one, and Jennifer Hayes? She was indeed really pretty, Will Knew that but it wasn’t like he actually liked the girl, she was just that, a popular pretty girl who didn’t even acknowledge his existence, but his friends still made their thing and teased him non-stop about his supposed obvious crush on her, a crush that wasn’t really a crush at the time.  
All of his friends knew how Will was, he has always been a peace maker, passive, mature, and quiet. So when their constant nagging took place, it ended up with a nonstop bickering between Lucas and Dustin, and Mike shooting daggers to anyone who dared touch him. Will was always left trying to calm everyone down. He wasn’t a fan of losing his temper and snapping at someone, always calm and pacific, therefore there weren’t many things out there that could be used to get an actual reaction out of him. That was until his friends found out that Jennifer Hayes did the trick, (if by reaction they meant to have him madly blushing.) But still it was a party thing, to tease everyone about something, no matter how stupid it was. But it was still that, teasing, joking, nobody took anything as been more than a mere joke.  
So his friends knew that he actually didn’t liked Jennifer Hayes, and yes he didn’t. Until later on their first year of Middle School that was.  
After he was rescued from the Upside down, it took him a couple of weeks to readjust to his life, and when he returned to school….Well let’s just say he wasn’t well received. They bullied him more than they did before, (if that was possible). They called him names, tripped him when he walked, beat him up, Well what can he say? It was like living in hell, and the worst part? He wasn’t mentally doing fine, he kept having flashbacks and hallucinations about his time in the Upside Down, kept remembering the awful experience of it all, no matter how hard he tried to forget.  
Waking his mother and brother up in the middle of the night due to dreading shouting, was a constant, Jonathan would hold him in his arms until he were able to fall back to sleep, soon his brother actually moved to his room, because there was not a single peaceful night in his dreams.  
Each times his supposed hallucinations took place, he just knew it meant something more, and there was no therapy session with Dr. Owen that helped. He was drowning all on his own.   
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Jonathan or his mom, but at the time he really wished he had Mike to back him up. He knew he also wasn’t doing ok, but he couldn’t help but to hold a grudge against Eleven, He knew he wasn’t being fair because come on! If it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t had come back to begging with, but still he couldn’t understand (no matter how hard he tried) why his best friend couldn’t see he was in pain and that he needed him, all because he was suffering for a girl that he met for a single week.  
It was a hard for him to handle, he didn’t want to be seen as baby that needed to be taken care of, and all he saw in everybody’s eyes was pity, he didn’t want that, it just made him feel more miserable.  
It was weird actually how he got to notice Jennifer Hayes in the middle of all his misery but he did.  
It happened when one time he was waiting for Jonathan to pick him up by the school entrance with his friends, it was a little later than usual, a sports festival had taken place that day and the whole school was left a mess, they stayed behind and helped clean up a little before leaving themselves, so he had called his brother in advanced.   
That’s when he saw her, walking to the school’s entrance with two huge black garbage bags in her hands, the cleaning lady Mrs. Terra chatting animatedly with her along the way.  
“Thank you for staying back and helping me out my girl, you ae always so nice” She said  
“You are very welcome Mrs. Terra, I’m always happy to help” answered Jennifer before leaving the bags inside the trash can and making her way out of school.  
Neither of them saw him or his friends, and they didn’t comment anything about it, as if nothing really happened, instead their conversation went back to their next D&D campaign at hand.  
They didn’t say anything but it still left Will in wonder, because he clearly herd Mrs. Terra saying she was nice and always helping her out, which was weird, because most of the popular kids were bratty and unbearable.  
So since that day, he started noticing Jennifer Hayes, and came up with the conclusion that he had judged her beforehand. Because she was in fact nice, she was always trying to help everyone out and taking everyone in consideration, yes she was popular, but she was different.  
So every time Will was having a bad day, he found himself staring at her, watching her was always soothing for him, it was like escaping reality, when he saw Jennifer Hayes, the Upside Down, the Demogorgon, none of that existed, and it made him feel normal again. It felt good, he knew he was crushing on her, he wasn’t stupid, and it made him internally laugh that his friends teasing turned out to be true, and it made him feel happy, a sensation he no longer easily felt.  
But with everything that was going on with his life at the time, he didn’t have the time to process his silly school boy’s crush much less fuss about it, so it was left at just that, a crush, a crush that helped him get through his day without hating school that much.  
Things got worse for him before they got better, his whole experience with the Mind Flayer left him with real and serious case of Post- Traumatic Stress. It was the real deal though, because everything was over, no more Upside Down related stuff were there anymore, just his big of a trauma taking its place. However, things were different then, with his family and friends, for starters he got his best friend back, Mike was with him through thick and thin ever since the beginning of the whole thing, never leaving his side, and that was something he’ll forever be grateful.  
Slowly things for him began changing, he started feeling less guilty about what happened to Bob understanding that there was nothing he could do about it now, what was done was done. It was hard and it hurt, it hurt because even though the Mind flayer was in full control over him, it still didn’t meant lots of people died because of it, so it took him a while to let those guilty feelings go away, but with the help of those he loves, he eventually did.  
He felt his family and friends constant support, all of them were patient and understanding of him. Especially Mike and Jonathan, they knew what to say and what not to say, both of them know Will better than he knows himself, so they really helped him get through rough times.  
That and the addition of unexpected friends in the equation too. Max was a really nice person, and he liked hanging out with her, she never judged him, not even once, and he was grateful about it, Steve was a weirdo, but he was so nice to him that he couldn’t help but like him too, he made it his personal task to take care of him and his whole party something like a babysitter, he tried really hard to make Will open up to him, and so he eventually did.  
And don’t make Will start about El, if there was someone he was grateful of having now in his life, it has to be El, things weren’t exactly easy peacy when they officially met, she was quiet, and he wasn’t much of a talker either, (that and the fact that he wasn’t sure what to make out of her), but soon they found out that even through silence they were able to communicate with each other they were able to build a really strong bond. It was funny but he got why Mike felt so gloomy when he thought he had lost her, it was impossible not to like her she was lovely, she understood him perfectly, knowing firsthand experience how horrible things were for him in the Upside Down, She had her own share of nightmares and trauma about those and her past life. He felt ashamed of himself for holding a little grudge against her before (Something he later confessed to Mike only to have him rolling in the floor for laughing so hard).  
Before he knew it Chief Jim Hopper married his mom, and El became her official sister, it made him so happy, but nothing compared to Mike though the kid was a ray of sunshine with the whole my two favorite people are siblings and they get along so well thing.  
Things settled down for him, days were brighter, he stopped shutting the world down and he smiled more often. He was still quiet and shy but that was his true nature, everyone was happy to know they got their Will back.  
He was the happiest though, because for him the past years weren’t anything but a nightmare, and when everything started normalizing he was able to give thought to things a normal boy his age does, His crush on Jennifer Hayes for example, that little crush that was the only piece of normal he tasted in his life when things where the actual worst.  
Since he started watching her, he never stopped, it was just that everyone was so worried about his wellbeing before that they hadn’t notice his now obvious crush on her. And he was planning to leave it like that.  
But of course Mike had other intentions, ever since he found out about it on their last year of Middle School all on his own.  
He remembers exactly how their conversation started  
“I can’t believe I didn’t notice before when it’s so obvious” he had said “you totally have to do something about it Will, talk to her!”  
“Hell no” he had answered  
Because yeah, there was no way he was ever gonna act and do something about it, his crush was a crush, but he didn’t had the intention of turning it into something more than that.  
“But why? I know she is popular and all, but we both know she is not like the bunch! She is different! She won’t shut you down if you talk to her”  
Yes he knew that, he knew she was different but things were more complicated for him, he stopped Mike’s ramble about, what a nice girl she was, and how nice it would be if they could befriend each other, and just told him everything that was inside his mind.  
Something was very much not okay with him, and he wasn’t talking about his traumatic Mind Flayer experience or anything of the sort, he was talking about something personal.  
Will had serious trust issues, and it was kind of normal, I mean his real dad left them all by themselves when their mom really needed him. And that no matter how much time passes by, it’ll always be a traumatic experience for him.  
Ever since his dad left Will has had trouble visualizing himself with a family of his own, in the back of his mind there is always that unsettling feeling and realization that love is not a happily ever after thing meaning it ends. So what’s the point in falling in love? What’s the whole point of dating, if things will end up unexpectedly?   
The expression Mike did when he confessed all of that was priceless to say the least.  
It doesn’t mean he stopped nagging him though, Mike was a huge believer that he wouldn’t know how things will turn out if you don’t risk it, and he was right, he knows but its way to scary.  
Will is a really down to earth kid, he knows where he’s standing and he always calculates his every move, meaning he is not the kind of person that’ll do something without thinking about the consequences first.  
So what he did the day before? Yeah he still wasn’t able to understand it, he made up his mind a long time ago, he was never ever doing something about his crush on Jennifer, never, no matter what his friends say (especially Mike) that was a risk he was not willing to take  
So what made him do the stupidest thing ever?  
Her notebook! That sealed the deal. When he was packing to leave the classroom yesterday and saw the notebook on the top of the desk he couldn’t hold it, he knew it was hers, she had been seating in that desk in class before.  
He just wanted to sneak a peek, like look at her handwriting at the most, that was it, he wasn’t a creepy stalker or anything, however when he started flipping through her notes he was surprised of what he got, tons of colorful hearts decorated the pages, and on top of them lots of cheesy things were written, lots, that involved him, in some it just said Will Byers is cute, or Jennifer Byers, in others there were date plans, and romantic anecdotes. It instantly made him grin like an idiot, his heart did that silly flip-floppy thingy everyone talks about that happens when you like someone. He was delighted, never wanting to stop reading.  
That was until Jennifer came rushing back to the classroom and stop dead on her tracks. And it wasn’t till he saw her panicked expression that he got the hint.   
First he wasn’t supposed to be found peeking inside her notebook, but most importantly, he knew he wasn’t supposed to know what was written inside and much less read it, she was nervous, and scared and ashamed because he found out about something that was meant to be kept as a secret.  
He knew, and he could’ve put an end to it all, he could’ve pretended he didn’t see anything, hand the notebook back to her and just leave. Things would’ve gotten back to the way they were as if nothing happened, and he knew that was the right thing to do. But in the heat of the moment his heart didn’t listen to his mind and he ended up doing something stupid.  
The fact that he found out that she likes him, (because it was obvious even if he tries to deny it) filled him up with a confidence he wasn’t aware he possessed, and he ended up screwing everything up.  
When he called Mike later that afternoon and told him, everything. He already knew he was in trouble, because Mike was cheering and rambling about how great it was, and how nice it was they shared mutual feelings towards each other.  
Mutual feelings that did the trick, he messed all up because he was surprised and excited to find out that she likes him too. Mike told him he was supposed to be happy, but he wasn’t sure he was, he was scared, scared because something like this was never supposed to happen.  
This was supposed to be an unrequited love, the nice, bubbly, popular girl wasn’t supposed to like him back. But she did.  
And now he didn’t know what to expect, because he was gonna have to face her sooner or later, and he didn’t want to that, he left his true feelings out in the open for her too.  
He Knew Jennifer Hayes, not personally but he has watched her long enough to know this is something she won’t simply forget and move on, he knows she’ll try to do something about it all, she wasn’t going to leave things like there were even if he tries to avoid her.  
What scares him the most?  
The fact that he wants her to do exactly that, because maybe just maybe in the back of his mind no matter how scared he is, he doesn’t want their story to end before it even begins.  
That was the last thing he thought before he drifted to a well- deserved sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will deserves love :)  
> Thanks for reading


	4. The Plan

The Plan

It was a late September Tuesday morning, 5:00 A.M. to be precise, Jennifer had woken up especially early that day.  
In fact she hadn’t been able to sleep the night before, like absolutely nothing, not even a blink.  
She couldn’t help it though. Not when everything that happened the day before seemed to be nothing more than a dream. A beautiful and perfect dream, too good to be true actually.   
Will likes me back! She thought   
Because he does right? She couldn’t help but to glance back at the little piece of paper resting on the top of her bedside table every now and then, just to make sure it was real and she wasn’t dreaming.  
The fact that he hadn’t freak out when he was peeking through her notebook AND the little note he wrote for her have to mean something right?  
I mean he literally wrote “You are cuter than me” for her! That has to mean something right? Or at least she’ll like to think it does.  
Honestly she didn’t know, she didn’t know what to think and what to do, and that was freaking her out to no end.  
Should she approach him and casually talk to him?  
If she talks to him, should she mention something about the note, or ignore it completely?  
Or should she stay put and wait for him to approach her instead?  
That’s so not gonna happen she thought, because it’s true, she might not know Will personally but she knows him good enough to know there is no way he’ll talk to her, I mean come on! It’s Will Byers we are talking about, shy, quiet and (unbelievingly) cute Will Byers.  
Then again, he was the one who gave her that note, which is a really un-Will like behavior, so if he had the courage to do something so daring, approaching and talking to her it’s easy- peasy right?.  
Yeah right! Even though she really, really wants him to talk to her, she just knows it won’t happen. She is almost a 100% sure that he wrote that note out of impulse, and is now regretting it every second.  
Meaning she has to take matters into her hands and do something! Or else things will go back to the way they are.   
They both took a step forward, so there’s no way she’ll take it back, she is going to talk to him no matter what!  
She hasn’t been able to speak a single word to him for years, and she’s still nervous as hell, and doesn’t know what to tell him exactly, but right now things seemed different and she feels slightly confident about herself.  
She knows she’ll be able to do it, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity she’s not willing to loose. Once she gets to school, she’ll go look for him, praying that she’ll know what to say when the time comes.  
And that’s the reason she’s standing in front of her body length mirror examining her reflection, for the millionth time already.  
I need to look pretty.  
This whole situation makes her feel both nervous and happy, nervous because she literally doesn’t know why in the world she’s trying so hard, she has been doing and re-doing her hair and makeup over and over for an hour already. And her outfit? She doesn’t want to count how many dresses she has discarded, nothing seems right, and she knows Will is not superficial, but she wants to look her best, for him that is, and it’s silly because he might not even notice to start with, and why would he? It’s not like they are dating or anything. But still wants to try anyway.   
Happy? Right now, she is happiness overload, Will Byers has been her crush for so long, she couldn’t believe that a day where she was gonna talk to him would come. Her crush felt real, and not in a stalker kind of way but in a real kind of way, and it’s not good to make assumptions, but who is she kidding? There is a huge chance he likes her back.  
For her everything felt unreal, she hasn’t even told her mom or friends yet, waiting for the perfect chance to do so.  
And suddenly before she knew, time went on fast and she was already in school searching for her friends inside the cafeteria. After taking way too much time with her outfit, she finally decided not to overdo it, and ended up wearing a simple baby blue sweater, white jeans and red keds tennis shoes, her hair curled down, and just a little bit of lip gloss and mascara.  
“Jennifer!” Her friends called out when they finally spotted her  
“There you are girls!” she answered while taking a seat next to them in a far-away bench.  
“Well well girl? You ran really ran away yesterday!” Said Judy  
“Like seriously! We thought you were kidding” Said Stacey  
“I wasn’t kidding! I won’t do cheerleading, but anyway that’s not important! There is something I need to tell you girls”  
“Oh really? Then Spill” answered Judy  
“You girls wouldn’t believe what happened to me yesterday!”  
“My Gosh, Jenn you didn’t sleep with a guy or anything right?” Asked Stacey  
“What?! No way! Eww! Disgusting, why would I even do that!”  
“Are you serious Stace? Let Jennifer finish her story”  
“Ok, ok I´m sorry! I just got worried! I suggested that yesterday after all”  
“It’s nothing like that! But anyway it’s really important” she ended up telling them everything that happened not leaving a single detail behind, and when she was done, the look her friends were giving her was priceless, a mixture of shock and mockery.  
“Soo King Nerd actually has balls after all” Said Stacey  
“Oh my God Jenn! This is wonderful! I can’t believe it but I’m so happy for you girl! Said Judy  
“So you girls think it’s correct to assume he likes me too?”   
“Yes of course!” They both exclaimed   
“Then…What should I do?” She shyly asked  
“What were you planning to do Jenn?” asked Judy  
“Well I really don’t know! I just wanted to look for him and talk, but I don’t really know what to say, I don’t know! Help me out!!”  
They both burst out laughing  
“Hello? What’s so funny?” Asked Jennifer  
Judy cupped Jennifer’s face in her hands and asked  
“Honey do you know who you are?”  
“What do you mean?”  
“Exactly that! Do you know who you are? You are Jennifer Hayes! You are beautiful, bubbly, and considerate Jennifer Hayes!”  
“Our straight forward ray of sunshine” added Stacey  
“The Jennifer we know, has been struggling with this one-sided crush for ages” said Judy  
“But the Jennifer we know is not a coward, and there is no way she won’t take this chance” continued Stacey  
“What do you want to tell him Jenn? What’s in your heart?”  
Jennifer thought about it for a moment and came up with an answer, what does she wants to tell him? She wants to know exactly how he feels, and there is no way for her to know that if she doesn’t ask him directly.  
“I want to know how he feels about me, so I’ll ask him exactly that!”  
“There you go girl! See? You don’t need our help, you already knew what you wanted to say” Happily exclaimed Judy  
“Directly approaching things is one of your best qualities Jenn! You want to know something you ask, there is no one as straight forward as you” said Stacey  
“You girls are right! I’ll do this my way”  
“Exactly”   
The bell rang before they could continue   
“You share first period with him right? Go get him girl and tell us how it goes! Bye bye! Added Judy right before retrieving with Stacey right by her side.  
Ok Will Byers, Here I come! She thought before running to her first class period.  
However sometimes things don’t go the way you want, and it wasn’t until English class was almost finished, that she convinced herself that he was not showing to first period.  
Maybe he is running late? Yeah right! He is not showing duh, class is almost over, maybe he’ll show for second period. She thought.  
At this moment she didn’t care if she didn’t share classes with him, she was gonna go to his second period Algebra class to look for him.  
Only, he didn’t show for second period, nor third, and by the time lunch came up, she had lost all hope of him ever showing to school at all.  
Her gloomy face when she approached her friends sitting on the bench didn’t go unnoticed.  
“What is wrong honey? Oh my God! Don’t tell me he said something stupid! I’m so killing him” exclaimed Judy  
“No, it’s not that, it’s just he didn’t come to school today”  
“Really? Today of all days! What a drag” angrily exclaimed Stacey  
“I know! Why today?” Jennifer tried not think much about it, but it was obvious, Will didn’t come to school because he is avoiding her, and that makes her so upset, she just knows she’ll start crying any second.  
“Don’t cry Jenn, I’m sure there is a reason” soothingly said Judy  
“Of course there is a reason! He is avoiding me!” Jennifer face planted herself on the table she really was about to cry.  
“I’m sorry about that”   
The 3 of them turned their heads to the sound of an unfamiliar voice, only to come face to face with Mike Wheeler himself  
“Pardon?” cautiously asked Judy  
“I said I’m sorry, about Will! You know for not showing to school?” tried to explain Mike  
“We get it Wheeler! What the hell do you want?” Rudely exclaimed Stacey  
“Calm down Stace, its ok!” tried to reason Judy.  
“Sorry about that Mike, what were you saying again? Asked Jennifer  
Mike sighed and took a sit next to Jennifer  
“Jennifer, I know we don’t exactly know each other, and I know it’s not my right to interfere, but Will is my best friend and I just can’t pretend nothing’s happening”  
“You have gotten my attention Wheeler, proceed” said Stacey  
“Ok, look Jennifer, I know what happened yesterday ok? Will called me and told me about it”  
“He did?”  
“Yes! So I know exactly what’s going on”  
“Meaning you came to apologize because he is in fact avoiding me?”   
“Yes and no, look Will didn’t come to school because he is sick “  
“He is?” asked Judy  
“Yes he is! But you are right Jennifer, he is avoiding you, so his sickness is kind of lucky I guess?”  
“Just Great” At this moment it was impossible for her to stop her tears  
“Nice move Wheeler” Sarcastically added Stacy while she comfortingly hugged Jennifer  
“Wait don’t cry! Please, I’m here because I want to help you guys get together”  
“G-Get together?” asked Jennifer  
“Yes! Look, it’s more than obvious you like each other, so-“  
“He does likes me back then?”  
“Of course he does!”  
“If he likes her then why is he acting like a coward? You said he is sick, but if he were here he’ll still be avoiding her” angrily asked Judy  
“Because that’s how he is! Look girls, it’s hard to explain, but I want you to know that I’m taking your side, and I have an idea Jennifer, so after las period come and meet me in the AV club room and we’ll discuss, see you later”   
The 3 of them watched as he retrieved  
“Well that was...random” said Judy  
“Should I go?” asked Jennifer  
“I think you should Jenn, I mean those guys are weird as hell, but if that nerd he has a plan, then why not?” Responded Stacey  
So that’s why after her last period Art class she found herself standing outside the AV club room door, not sure if this was a good idea after all.  
She convinced her friends of letting her go on her own, she didn’t know what Mike wanted to tell her, but after thinking about it carefully, she came up with the conclusion that she wanted to do this by herself.  
Before she could knock, the door suddenly opened  
“We were expecting you Jennifer, come in” Said Mike  
“We?” Jennifer asked while slowly making her way inside the room   
“I’m here too” unexpectedly answered Jane  
“Jane?”  
Jennifer didn’t even notice Jane was in the room, and if she were to be honest, this was actually the first time she looked at her closely  
“Pretty” The both said at the same time  
Jennifer blushed and laughed softly  
“What are you saying? You are super pretty!”  
Because it was the truth, Jane has to be one of the prettiest girls she has ever seen, her curly brown hair, beautiful brown eyes, she was dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt, yet she managed to rock that simple outfit.  
She is so pretty she thought, why didn’t she noticed before?  
“You are pretty too” said a smiling Jane  
It was funny, but Jennifer knew she wanted to befriend this girl, she didn’t know what it was, but there is something about her that she likes, and it’s not about her appearance but something else, something she can’t quite put her finger on, and it’s weird considering she doesn’t know her.  
“I’m glad you girls are having a perfect start and everything, but we are here to discuss important matters at hand” said Mike  
That shook Jennifer out of her trance, he was right, this was supposed to be about Will  
“What do you want to tell me Mike?”   
Jane and Mike shared a knowing looking with each other before smiling and looking straight at her  
“First of all we want to say sorry in Will’s place” said Mike  
“And we want you to know that he likes you” added Jane  
“Is it really true? That he likes me? Why would he be avoiding me then? Is he too embarrassed?”  
“He is really ashamed, that’s true, but it goes beyond that”  
“Beyond that? What is it?”  
Mike and Jane looked at each other before answering  
“We think it’s something he needs to explain to you”   
“But why? Is there something wrong? Is it about me? Please tell me what’s going on so I can understand”  
“There is nothing wrong with you, it’s actually about Will” Said Jane  
“Jennifer we are pretty much aware about the little game you guys have been playing for years now, that stalking each other game?”   
So embarrassing she thought Jennifer hadn’t know just how obvious it has been all along  
“I promise there is nothing wrong, Will’s been doing the exact same thing” said Mike  
Well that was a surprise, and she would’ve been jumping out of pure joy if it weren’t for the fact that her crush was avoiding her for unknown reasons  
“The thing is, we know you have liked each other for years, but neither of you were planning on doing something about it”  
“But now, Fate did his thing, and things have come this, it has to be destiny, so there is no way in hell Jane and I are letting this opportunity slip out of our hands, you guys have to talk and solve this out”  
“That’s exactly what I want to do! But?”  
“It’s something he doesn’t want to do, we know that, so that’s why Mike and I had an idea”  
“Jonathan, Will’s brother, will come to pick up us both Jane and I up, so we were thinking, why don’t you come with us?”  
Jennifer’s shocked expression was priceless to say the least  
“Me? Go to his house all of a sudden! Are you guys joking? He is gonna freak out, hell I´m freaking out!”  
“Why not? It doesn’t matter how we look at it we think that’s the best way, he won’t be able to avoid you if you are at his house so you’ll be able to talk this out”  
“Yes but it’s weird! We haven’t even had a proper conversation, with what excuse will I be showing at his house? That’s way too embarrassing!”  
“Of course we have that figured out already” Said Jane  
“Jennifer do you remember our English assignment? That silly book presentation we are supposed to do?”  
“Yes it’s in couples right?” oh, she knew what direction things were going  
“Exactly! So I paired you up with Will!”  
“But I already had a partner, how can I just leave him hanging?”  
“Relax, like we said, everything’s settled, I already talked to Sam, we are doing the work together”  
“So no more excuses! Please come home with us” said Jane  
“I understand, ok I’ll do it” She wasn’t convinced this was a good idea though, and she still felt gloomy  
“Don’t seem happy?”   
Jennifer turned to look at Jane’s worried expression, and the more she looked at her, the more she knew this girl was something else entirely, she literally doesn’t know her but still manage to worry and care about her, and of course she felt it was impossible to lie to her.  
“It’s because I don’t know what I’m doing, I know you guys assure that Will likes me, but everything seems as if he weren’t interested at all, liking me is not enough you know? If he doesn’t want to have anything to do with me, then what’s the point of this?”  
She was frustrated and sad  
“Jennifer Hayes, Would you want to date Will?” asked Mike  
“He has been my forever crush, of course I would love that!”  
“Then go on and convince him! Look Will’s just scared ok? He has a lot of issues going on and it’s something he has been struggling with and it’s hard for any of us to help you understand, he is the only one that can explain exactly what’s going on”  
“Mike and I we both know, that you are the one who can help him out”  
“We know you are fighter! This chance has come to you already, so please, don’t be discouraged and give up on him so easily”  
Does words where the fuel she needed to react, she giving up? Without trying? After knowing he likes her back? No way was that happening! She didn’t care what kind of problems, or issues he was having, but she wasn’t leaving him on his own, not when she knew she could do something to help.  
So when she got inside Jonathan’s car with both Mike and Jane there was only one thought on her mind.  
Get ready Will Byers, because here I come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :)


	5. Friends

Friends?  
\-----------------------------------

Jennifer’POV

His house, I’m going to Will’s house! Jennifer wasn’t doing ok, her mind was racing nonstop thinking about what could possibly go wrong, always coming to the same conclusion: everything! In this situation everything could turn the wrong way any second, it’s true she was feeling confident and determined, but those feelings disappeared as soon as she stepped inside Jonathan’s car, not sure this was a good idea after all.  
I’ll freak him out, I’m freaking out, he’ll hate my guts, what do I do? Oh my God! She was trembling, her hands where sweating, and she was sure everyone was able to listen to her agitated heart because of how fast it was beating.  
Oh and did she mentioned Jonathan Byer’s countless questions? Yeah that wasn’t helping soothe her nerves either.  
“So what do you like about my brother again?” he asked  
“Uhm I- I don’t k-know?” Ugh what a way to make a fool out of herself honestly, but at the moment she couldn’t form coherent words, much less a sentence to save a life.  
“Brother? She is not feeling good”   
Hooray for Jane she thought  
“Jonathan this is not easy for her, you are making everything worst stop asking so many questions already” added Mike Wheeler  
Thank you so much!  
“Jeez I’m sorry, Jennifer? It wasn’t my intention to make you feel uncomfortable it’s just everything seems so…unexpected? I don’t really know what I’m saying please forgive me.  
Jane who was seated just beside her, took her hands in hers and kindly smiled at her. She got the message: there is nothing to be afraid of, everything’s going to be fine.  
Smiling back at her she took a deep breath and relaxed a little before answering  
“It’s not your fault, you are just curious, and I understand that, I’m sorry for being so nervous, this is not the impression I want you to have of me, can we please start all over again?”   
Jonathan silently chuckled and smiled, looking at her reflection from the small rearview mirror.  
“Ok so let’s start with introductions again then, Hi I’m Jonathan, and I’m Will’s older brother”  
“Hello Jonathan I’m Jennifer Hayes! Nice to meet you”  
Conversation flowed naturally between all of them, Jennifer found out just how easy it was talking to this people, Mike was a natural rambler, and Jane was super quiet, she enjoyed listening to him talking without saying a word, it was as if whatever word came out of Mike’s mouth, was sacred. Oh and the way they looked at each other? With those lovey-dovey eyes? That has to be one of the cutest things she has ever witnessed before.  
And Jonathan Byers! He is such a cutie pie, so kind, and gentle, but of course he is! He is Will’s older brother after all.  
Soon she forgot all about her nervousness relaxing and just taking her time to capture and enjoy the moment.  
I like this people, I can totally get used to this! She thought

Will’s POV

Will didn’t know how long he slept that day, but the moment he woke up he was feeling almost a 100% recovered all thoughts about Jennifer Hayes, momentarily forgotten, he needed to stop that if he wanted to fully recover after all, so he lazily stayed in bed taking his time to get out of it.  
He took a quick shower, and dressed up in a comfy white t-shirt and stripped pajama pants, it wasn’t as if he was expecting someone anyway, apart from his family that is, oh and maybe Mike, but he wasn’t sure about that.  
2:00 P.M. it was still way too early for someone to arrive home, but the feeling of been left all alone at home wasn’t exactly his cup of tea.  
Will hated loneliness, its true he is an introvert, but he hated feeling lonely, an after effect of his experience in the Upside Down, he can’t help it.  
So before he drove himself crazy, he went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass full of water, took out his sketching notebook and some crayons, and sat down on their small dining table, he didn’t feel like eating, and still didn’t know what his homework’s for the day were so he started to draw whatever it came to his mind.  
Time went up fast when he was drawing, it was one of his favorite’s things to do, it felt nice and relaxing to just forget about everything around and just focus on drawing.  
He didn’t know how long he was there just focusing on his drawing and crayons, it could have been minutes or hours, but he was never aware of time.  
And it wasn’t till he heard the sound of Jonathan’s car parking outside that he came out of his trance.  
Good! He thought  
He threw his things away, and ran outside as enthusiastically and quickly as possible to welcome his siblings home, yeah he hated showing this much dependency and weakness, but this was his family so who cares? They know he hates being left alone.  
His brother wasn’t even finished getting outside the car when he was already shouting   
“What in the world took you so long?”  
Jonathan laughed and approached him hugging him to dear life  
“Hey squirt! We came as quick as possible”  
“It’s just 4 Will” funnily added Mike as he walked towards them and patted his back in a friendly matter  
“How are you feeling? Asked him Jane  
“I feel a lot be-“  
He wasn’t able to finish that sentence, because in that moment it was as if time had just stopped for him, there just a couple of steps away stood no other than Jennifer Hayes herself. Pretty as ever, fixing her beautiful golden locks, while shyly looking at him straight in the eyes, a cute pink blush tinting her cheeks.  
“H-Hi Will” she said  
And he swore he was dead, because there was no way this was real.  
His perplexed expression didn’t go unnoticed  
But he managed not to make that much of a fool about himself and quietly answered a simple  
“Hi”  
Will didn’t know what to make out of this situation, his state of shock completely evident, he wasn’t expecting something like this to happen, nor was he ready, he turned to look at Mike for a possible explanation, and the look on his face was all he needed to understand what was going on, yeah, they all planned this out.  
“So… It happened that today in English class we were assigned to work in couples, so things turned this way, I hope you don’t mind Will” Said Mike  
“It’s ok to come over here Jennifer, let’s go inside” told her Jonathan

And oh boy the way she walked, it was as if a princess had just entered her castle, irradiating confidence and beauty.  
Yeah, this is it I’m dead  
Yes Mike and El had lots of explaining to do, but he needed to come out alive of this situation first, and he prayed and hoped, he could.

Jennifer’s POV

For a girl as clumsy as her, walking in front of her crush did represent a challenge, please don’t fall, she repeated in her mind over and over again.  
Thank God she didn’t.  
“I welcome you in Jennifer, please feel at home” Said Jonathan when they all entered the house.  
“Thank you”  
The house was small compared to hers, but sure it was pretty and cozy, like any home should be, that made her smile because everything surrounding Will was just like him, cute and warm really pleasant.  
Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted when Mike suddenly started speaking  
“Will we have to work on a book presentation for next week, and you were assigned to work with Jennifer, since you didn’t go to school Jane and I thought it was a good idea to just bring her”  
“You have a lot to catch up” Added Jane, both blinking their eyes at her making her blush  
“Ok guys, my late shift starts soon, so I should get going, Mike, Jane you coming?”  
“What do you mean you coming? Why do they have to leave with you?” indignantly asked Will  
She was trying really hard not to lose her mind, Mike’s and Jane’s intentions clear as water to her.   
“We are going to the library, we just came to pick some of Jane’s stuff to work, we also have an English project remember?” answered Mike  
“You guys don’t share English class” responded Will  
“Yeah well Jane will help me out, we better get going let’s go guys”  
If looks could kill, Mike Wheeler would be dead by now, it was actually pretty funny to see a boy as small as Will glaring so hard at someone, really intimidating though, no wonder Mike ran away so quickly.  
“Bye Jennifer” Said Jane before disappearing behind the door following Mike steps  
“Okay the house is all yours! I´ll get out early and come back for dinner, Mom will be home around 6, make sure you eat something before, I know you don’t eat when you are sick Will so try ok?”  
“I get it, keep going or you’ll be late” Said Will  
Before he left Jonathan whispered something to Jennifer  
“Don’t be nervous, and talk this out, make yourself feel at home”  
He said it so fast she almost missed it, but she got the point, she’ll do her best to try and talk to Will, if she doesn’t die before aware about the fact that they were alone in his house that is.  
“Sorry about this” the sound of Will’s voice sent shivers down her spine,  
Holly Crap he sounds just like an angel! Keep together Jennifer, don’t freak.  
Jennifer really needed her little prep talk if she wanted to get out of here without suffering a heart attack.  
“I- I it’s ok, I’m the one who should be sorry for being here”  
“Come on, lets seat down” he said while moving to their small dining table “Do you want something to drink?”   
“No thanks, just come seat with me”  
Will obliged and took a seat facing her way, his cheeks were flushed, his hair disheveled and his hands didn’t stop fidgeting, how cute! She thought, he was just as nervous as her. Knowing that helped her relax a little.  
“I-I, Mike and Jane set this all up”  
“I know, they told me in school”  
“You knew? And still wanted to come?”  
“Yes, I really wanted to come, i- is it uncomfortable? For you?”  
“It’s not that! It’s just…Mike could’ve at least warn me or something, I look like a total mess”  
That melted her heart, here she was intruding his home out of nowhere, and the boy was worried because he wasn’t well dressed, if only he knew just how unbelievingly cute he was.  
She really wanted to laugh, but it wasn’t the right moment to do so.  
“You don’t look like a mess to me, I mean, you are sick and this is your house”  
He smiled that beautiful smile at her, yes at her, as in directed to her! If she died right here and now, she would die the happiest girl ever.  
“I seriously wasn’t expecting you to come here it’s truly a surprise”  
“Believe me I surprised myself when I agreed to do so, we haven’t even had a conversation before today, but here I am, I’m really sorry if I’m freaking you out”  
“You are not freaking me out, I knew we were gonna end up talking sooner or later anyway”  
“So…You weren’t planning on avoiding me?”   
“Yes and No, I mean I would’ve tried to avoid you, but you are way to persistent, so”  
“You got that right, I would’ve chased you to the end of the world if possible”  
“I know” he added laughing softly  
This boy and his ability to make her go crazy, he was too much for her to handle, but she had lots of questions going round in circles on her mind and needed all answers possible, so taking a deep breath, forgetting all traces of nervousness she decided to just get it over with and ask.  
“Will you know why I’m here, and I’m sorry if you feel I’m way to forward but I need to know, so please tell me, do you like me?”  
She thought the boy would totally freak out and avoid the question completely, but Will Byers defied normal, instead he was looking straight at her as composed as ever.  
“I do like you, a lot to be honest actually”  
This was it, she could totally die right now listening to your crush directly telling you he likes you was something else entirely, and it felt like heaven.   
Her cheeks started to feel warm, she wasn’t expecting such a forward answer but she managed to talk.  
“Y-You do?”  
“I do, but this was supposed to be unrequited, you weren’t supposed to know”  
The way Will Byers looked at her, all red in the face and really ashamed, was a sight that’ll be forever imprinted on her memory.  
“You weren’t supposed to know either, I-I have liked you for so long already, but I wasn’t able to speak a single word to you for years, until today”  
“I have also liked you for a really long time”  
She was immensely happy, and why wouldn’t she? He likes her back! But then something also felt…wrong? And she didn’t know what it was  
“But you are not happy? That we like each other back?  
“I am happy! It’s just not easy for me to explain, I mean Jennifer why would a girl like you like someone like me to begin with?”  
And then she felt her blood starting to boil  
“What! And why wouldn’t I?! Will Byers are you questioning my feelings here?”  
“Actually I am, no matter how hard I try I just can’t understand, so tell me, why do you like me?  
“Because I do!”  
“That doesn’t answers anything”  
“It does, why can’t you believe I do?”  
“Jennifer it doesn’t make sense, you are pretty, and nice and popular, and then...I’m just-“  
“You are just what Will? What is wrong with you?”  
“I’m just me I guess? I’m small, I don’t do sports and I’m a huge nerd”  
“And why is that wrong?”  
“I’m not like other boys Jennifer”  
“No you are not! And that’s what makes you especial! Yes you are small but so what? It makes you look cute, you are taller than me anyway, don’t do sports? Whatever! You just have different interests, a nerd? Will are you kidding me? Nerds are hot as hell!”  
And then he started laughing, and his laugh was just oh so contagious that she started to laugh alongside him.  
“Ok Jennifer, Thank you I guess”  
“Was that it? Are your trust issues the only problem here?”  
“I see, so my trust issues are completely evident then?”  
“Clear as water to me”  
“Yes I have trust issues, but there’s also lots of things going on with me Jennifer”  
Lots of things she thought, the way he told her, with that melancholic look on his pretty face, she kind of understood the real problem at hand  
“You…you are keeping secrets?”  
“I am”  
“Please tell me you are not on drugs!”  
“What? No!”  
“Alcohol?”  
“Are you serious?”   
“If it’s none of that then I can totally handle it”  
“What are you implying?”  
“It means, I’ll be ok if we date each other”  
“Logic says you can’t date someone who’s not being completely honest with you”  
“That’s why we are doing this in order, logic also says you can’t date someone you don’t personally know”  
“Explain then”  
“I have a question for you first, this secrets of yours… would I be able to know them someday?”  
“Someday…yeah it could happen”  
“I won’t pressure you then, I want you to trust me first, so that one day you’ll have the confidence to tell me about everything”   
“I see now”  
“We’ll do this in order Will, so let’s get to know each other first, what do you say?”  
That smile on his face was all the answer she needed  
“Jennifer Hayes, let’s get to know each other”

Will’s POV

This girl never ceased to surprise him, he worried for nothing, the girl had the ability to make the easiest way out of things, and to think he just wanted to run away. He was happy that they found a way to make things work out, all in all even if it’s hard for him, he didn’t want to give up just yet, and this is the girl he has liked for years after all.

“Good, we have an agreement then Will”  
“We do”  
“So since we are friends now, and your brother told me I can make myself feel at home, can you please show me where all your cooking supplies are?”  
“Sure, but you are the guest, is there something you want to eat, I’ll prepare it for you”  
“You can cook? That’s so sweet! But no thanks, I wanted to prepare something for you, your brother said you don’t eat when you are sick, so what about a chicken noodle soup?”  
The girl of her dreams was here at his house, casually talking to him and wanted to cook something for him too? Yeah he must be asleep.  
“Y-You don’t have too”  
“Nonsense Will! I’ll be happy to do so”  
And that was how with his help, she started taking all the stuff she needed out and started to prepare the soup for him, it was funny watching her cook (she wouldn’t let him get near) in his kitchen, both of them alone inside his house, it made him feel as if they were a couple of newlyweds  
Just the mere thought of it was enough to make him blush. She didn’t notice though  
The conversation between them flowed so naturally it was enviable, it seemed as if they had known each other for years, (which in fact they did, just not personally), they talked and asked each other questions about everything that came to mind.  
“Why is yellow your favorite color?”  
“Because it reminds me of the sun! And I love the sun” She said  
The soup he prepared for her was delicious, he didn’t know if it was due to the fact that the one who made it was her or if in fact it was really good.   
It was hard to eat when someone was intently watching over you though  
“You are making me feel really self-conscious” he said  
“Sorry! It’s just…is it really good? You are not saying it to make me feel better aren’t you?”  
“It’s really good trust me”  
“Thank God”  
They both felt silent suddenly, Will started feeling nervous all over again, the fact that they were alone getting the best of him. So of course in all his nervousness he had to suggest the stupidest thing ever  
“Do you want to come to my room?”   
Way to go Will!  
However if she thought something about it, she didn’t show it  
“Sure, lead the way”  
Which only made him feel worst, Gosh stop overthinking everything Will  
The moment they entered his bedroom he regretted suggesting it even more, he had a huge mess on his bed.  
Hardly blushing he told her  
“Sorry about the mess”  
“What are you talking about? Your room is tidier than my, you really put me to shame”  
“The bed is a mess”  
“You were a sick person in bed before I arrived”  
This girl was amazing, everything about her was just so easy to figure out, she was gentle, humble and simple minded, the more he looked at her, the more he liked her.  
He decided to stop worrying about every single detail and just enjoy the moment.  
Soon he was showing her all of his comic books collections, attentively listening to everything he was saying  
“Oh I like the X-Men too”  
“Sweet, you can have those if you want”  
Everything seemed as if it was part of a fairytale, the girl was just so perfect to him, too good to be true.  
“You have won so many science fair trophies”   
“Yeah, my friends and I, we participate every year since elementary school”  
“You’ll also participate this year?”  
“That’s the idea”  
“I’ll cheer up for you then”  
“Thanks”  
The atmosphere between them, changed entirely, one minute they were talking, next thing he knew they were looking at each other in the eyes, slowly starting to lean in, closing their eyes in the process, if he didn’t know better, he would say they were about to kiss, but that was impossible right? No way was that happening.   
But it would’ve happen, if he hadn’t heard his mom calling out his name.  
“That’s my mom” he said slowly moving away  
“I see”   
Both of their cheeks were burning, their breaths agitated, anyone could think that they had in fact kissed. But they didn’t.  
“Come on lets go, I’ll present you to my mom”  
“I’m excited to meet her”  
They both didn’t say anything about what nearly happened, they didn’t mention it after he met his mom and engaged in conversation with her, nor after she met his dad, or when she stayed and had dinner with them.  
And they certainly didn’t mention it when they said their goodbyes with the promise of meeting each other the next day, before the Chief took her home.  
A kiss huh? Maybe someday Jennifer.  
He smiled and blushed upon himself, secretly hopping it would happen sooner than later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :)


	6. Like a dream come true

Like a Dream come true  
\-----------------

Jennifer’s POV

“So that means you guys kissed?”  
“I’m telling you we didn’t Judy! I mean, I think he wanted to but it didn’t happen”  
“It’s the same thing”  
“No its not!”  
Jennifer didn’t know why she even bothered explaining, it was always the same when she was talking to her friends they ended up interpreting everything the way they wanted. She couldn’t help it though, there was no way she wasn’t telling what happened today, she would’ve told her mom first, but she still wasn’t home.  
“I still can’t believe you called Stacey first”  
“I didn’t call her first, you just didn’t pick up the phone first”  
“We have a friend code”  
“Don’t be overdramatic, both of you are my best friends”  
“I know, but I get territorial, I met you first remember?”  
“Jude”  
“Ok you’re right I’ll stop, anyway Jenn that means you guys are now dating right?”  
“Well, we are not there yet”  
“But you stayed alone with him in his house”  
“Yeah?”  
“You cooked for him”  
“Yes?”  
“You went to his room”  
“Yes, what’s your point Jude?”  
“My point is, that’s dating! Jenn you were inside a boy’s room all by yourselves, that’s like jumping all the way to third base if you know what I mean”  
Jennifer felt her cheeks starting to burn up   
“He just wanted to show me his room”  
“You guys kissed!”  
“Oh my Gosh Judy! We didn’t kiss!”  
“Honey I just want to prove a point here”  
“What are you talking about?”  
“All guys are wolves my dear, you can’t just stay alone with a boy and expect that nothing is going to happen, especially in his room”  
“Will is not like that Judy and you know it”  
“I just want you to be safe Jennifer, you are way too precious for me, I-I just don’t want you to make the same mistakes I did”  
Jennifer knew what she was talking about, Judy’s pained expression still present as memories of last year events came crushing back to her like a hurricane. She knew how hard things were for her, but she grew up and became stronger than ever.  
“You don’t have to worry about anything Judy, trust me”  
She heard her sigh from the other end of the line  
“Be wise ok? And learn from other people’s experiences”  
“I promise I will Judy”  
“Good, I know Will Byers is like a huge nerd and everything, but you always have to be careful ok? You never know”  
“I understand Jude, and thank you for worrying so much about me”  
“You do the same for me my dear, what are friends for?”  
“You got it”  
“I’m really happy for you Jenn, Will’s a great kid”  
“Thanks I’m really happy about today’s outcome too”  
“So…What are you guys doing tomorrow?”  
“What do you mean?”  
“Are you serious? I mean are you guys sitting together on first period? Eat lunch together? Have a date? What are you doing?”  
“Oh that! We uh, we’ll have lunch together”  
“Sweet! Well honey I guess I’ll see you tomorrow morning then?”  
“Right! See yah! Bye Judy good night”  
She hanged up the phone before Judy were able to answer  
What an idiot! I completely forgot to ask! So happy and overwhelmed about the fact that they were now friends adding up that almost kiss they had , she completely forgot to ask him how they were supposed to interact in school from now on, the whole we-should-get-to-know-each other thing still present.   
It was his fault! How in the world was I supposed to concentrate with his face so close to mine? She knew they hadn’t actually kissed but what happened was still enough for her naïve and unexperienced self to lose her mind. Of course she wasn’t able to think straight after that, she was so nervous she didn’t even mentioned it to him for the remaining of the night, and she wasn’t planning to do so, she wasn’t ready for a kiss just yet.  
Thankfully tomorrow was Wednesday, meaning Will had AV club activities, hopefully she would be able to catch him early in the morning to ask him personally.

Will’s POV

“We didn’t kiss Jonathan!”  
“You just said it yourself!”  
“I didn’t! I said we almost did, which is different”  
“Sure whatever you say squirt”  
That mocking expression again! Will swore that one day he’ll snatch that stupid expression off Jonathan’s face   
“You literally live to make a fool out of me”  
“That’s what brothers are for!”  
They both laughed at that  
“She is amazing Jonathan”  
“I know, she´s awesome, and mom totally loved her”  
“She has that kind of ability”  
“But you are still not dating right?”  
“We aren’t, we uh, made an agreement?”  
“But why?”  
He sighed before answering  
“You know why…it’s complicated both you and I know I’m not normal, and it’s not like I can just tell her about… well you know.  
“I don’t see anything wrong with you Will”  
“I-I have issues and you know it, I just can’t go all the way and talk about me just because”  
“Your issues are manageable Will”  
“I suffer from post-traumatic stress, and no it’s not easy to handle”  
“You are way better now, come on Will it’s not even noticeable anymore, even your therapy sessions with Dr. Owen are prolonged each time more”  
“Still, that doesn’t mean I’m cured, and I have this weird episodes once in a while”  
“So that means you won’t tell her? Like ever?”  
“Not never, I might be able to tell her someday, but I have to be completely sure when I do so, I need to trust her”  
“So you don’t trust her?”  
“I like her, but I don’t know her how can I trust her?”  
“Good point”  
“She’s like really cool, and I like her, but we can’t date yet, it’s not fair to date someone who’s not being honest with you”  
“I get what you are saying, but Will I just want you to promise me something ok?”  
“Go ahead”  
“This girl, she’s special I just know it, so don’t build those invisible walls around you like you usually do, and give her a chance ok? You said you both agreed on getting to know each other, so do that, but promise me Will promise me that you won’t run away, even though you get scared, running away is forbidden”  
He smiled, his brother knows him too well  
“I won’t run away, I-I like her, so I’ll give this a shot”  
“Good, I’m happy for you squirt, believe me I am”  
Will hugged his brother good night before retiring back to his room, and it wasn’t until he was already in bed that he remembered something important  
Crap! I forgot to ask her what are we gonna do in school from now on!

Jennifer’s POV

Please be alone, please be alone Jennifer was extra early in school that morning, she wanted to find Will as soon as possible.  
She knew Will was already there, he was always early to clean and set everything up before the rest of the guys even got there when they had AV club, always so nice and thoughtful.  
Standing outside the AC club room, she noticed he was in fact already there, and she wanted to call out for him, enter the room and just talk, but just the sight of him seating down, looking so concentrated with his brows all scrunched together while he sketched something down, that was more than enough for her to stop dead on her tracks and just contemplate his overloading cuteness.  
“So cute” she thought, only she didn’t just thought about it but ended up saying it out loud  
And when he turned around and looked at her, with the shyest and brightest smile she had ever seen, she pretty much just wanted to die of embarrassment (or keep on looking at him, she wasn’t sure)  
“Thank you?” He shyly answered  
She swore her face couldn’t be redder  
“hahahaha sorry? I mean uh- yeah you are cute, like really cute, but you weren’t supposed to listen, I mean what girl goes around saying out loud how cute the boy she likes is? Just me of course! I say it daily! Well not like daily daily but, you get the point don’t you?”  
Yeah what he gets is you silliness you idiot, why can’t you just shut up already  
She thought he would’ve at least laugh at her for being so dumb, but Will Byers, being Will only smiled back at her and urged her to take a seat right next to her.  
“Good morning” he said just as she took a seat  
Relaxing and trying to forget about her previous embarrassing rambling fit she started to engage in conversation with him  
“Good morning to you too, you are early today”  
“So are you”  
“Well yeah uhm- I wanted to talk to you before classes started”  
“So you came this early just to look for me?”  
“Yes?”  
“So you knew I was already here then?”  
“Yes?”  
Then something made click to her  
“Are you making fun of me?”  
And he laughed, and oh My God his laugh was something she’ll never get tired of hearing, not today not ever, Please let me listen to his laugh for a very long time she prayed.  
“Completely”  
“So Will Byers actually has a sense of humor, how would’ve thought?”  
“I’m full of surprises”  
“I bet you are!”  
They both laughed whole heartedly at that  
“Anyway Will, uhm- I didn’t I mean, we didn’t had the chance to discuss yesterday, and I just need to know, what are we supposed to do from now on?”  
“I was about to ask the same, what should we do?”  
“You are so not being fair here! I asked first”  
“So you want me to decide?”  
“Yes!”  
He thought about it for a moment before answering  
“Let’s start by seating together in English class, what do you say?”  
“I’ll be more than happy to oblige”  
“Cool, we can sit in the back if you want”  
“Oh no we don’t have to do that! You always sit in the front row”  
“Yeah but I’m totally not making you do that, I know not everyone likes it”  
Jennifer was sure that if she kept hanging out with this kid she was gonna end up being a puddle of mush all over, he was just so unbelievingly cute it wasn’t even fair, so before she ended up fangirling and melting, she decided to keep on talking.  
“W-Why don’t we sit in one of the middle rows then? I think it’ll be cool”  
“We have a deal then”  
“Perfect”  
She kept on looking at him, those beautiful hazel eyes, those lips, wait what! No, stop it you idiot don’t lose control  
“Can we uh- maybe have lunch together?”   
Cool, keep my mind out of trouble, answer him Jennifer, and stop staring at his lips don’t be a creep, he’ll notice! Oh my God he blushed! He noticed! Oh my God! Oh my God! Don’t panic, keep it cool, ok  
However if Will noticed the way she was looking at him, he didn’t said anything   
“L-L-Lunch sounds good”  
“Just the two of us then?”  
Wait, stop right there, he wants to spend the whole lunch period together, just with her?  
“You want us to be alone?”  
Girl! Don’t you have a filter?  
“I guess I do, does it makes you uncomfortable?  
“Of course not! I want to, I really do, but…will it be ok with your friends?”  
“Yeah totally cool, I eat alone sometimes, what about your friends?”  
“They have cheer practice today! I don’t even need an excuse, so let’s do that”  
“Won’t you get in trouble then? If you don’t go to practice?”  
“What? Oh no, I’m not on the team?”  
“Really? I really thought you were”  
“I didn’t feel like it”  
“I get what you say, it sometimes happens huh”  
What a beautiful bean Oh my God! I like him so much!  
“Yeah”  
She wanted to keep on talking to him, to tell him why she didn’t want to be on the team, why the whole popular clique is a complete mess, and how much she hates all of it, and that’s what she should be doing, they were supposed to do exactly that, talk to each other, but if she started rambling about it now, she wouldn’t know how to properly start up a conversation later on.  
Save it for lunch she thought  
“My friends are always nagging me to enter the art club”  
“They do? Wow, now that I think about it, your drawings are amazing why you aren’t part of the Art club?”  
“And that my lady is our conversation topic for lunch, I’m excited to know why you are not part of the cheer team”  
Oh? Oh! Will Byers you are a freaking genius  
“You are amazing”  
“What do you mean?”  
“It’s just… You know how to read each situation so perfectly! You know what to say and what to do and your timing is on point”  
“Well I’m good at reading people, I think that helps”  
“That totally helps, so cool”

Will’s POV

Was Jennifer Hayes actually praising him? Since when did he got so lucky?  
“Thanks” He said  
God Will, make yourself sound happier, why are you so dull?  
Looking deep in thought Jennifer all but murmured what he said  
“Good at reading people huh?”  
He knew what she was thinking or at least he thought he knew, and he knew he was supposed to shut up, and not even mention anything, but he wanted to make a point here, he didn’t want her to misinterpret his intentions from the very beginning, that could represent a problem for them later after all.  
So building up all the courage he could possibly master, and looking straight at her eyes he started  
“Uh Jennifer?”  
“Yes?”  
“Yes I’m good at reading people, and even though I’m just getting to know you, I’m already starting to understand you, even if it’s a little”  
“I believe you do”  
“So uhm, I know that what I’m about to say might make you feel a little uncomfortable, but I really need to get it out of my system”  
“Go ahead”  
“Jennifer about yesterday?”  
He noticed the way she tensed and how she started sweating, looking everywhere but his eyes.  
He didn’t stop though  
“I know you know what I mean, but I just wanted you to know, that, I’m not like that”  
“What do you mean Will”  
She really looked confused  
“About the kiss? I know we didn’t kiss, but if my mom hadn’t arrived at the moment it would’ve happened, and we would’ve ended up regretting it”  
The hurt look her eyes reflected was more than enough to make him realize just how stupid he had sounded.  
You are not being considerate you idiot  
“No wait! That’s not what I meant! Of course I want to kiss you!  
Good grief Will what the hell is wrong with you!  
“I- I mean it’s just”  
He knew he was blushing  
I must look like a real idiot  
And then she laughed, she laughed!  
Of course she is laughing, you are being an idiot!  
“Ok I think I understand what you are trying to tell me, its ok Will, I know you didn’t invite me to your room with bad intentions”  
He blushed even more (He didn’t even think that was physiologically possible)  
“Yeah that’s part of it, but it’s not only that, look Jennifer, I- I think I’m getting ahead of myself, and I’m sorry about that, but I think we do have a future”  
Great! Way to go Will, why don’t you just tell her about the Upside Down and get it done with you idiot!  
He still continued though  
“The thing is! I’m never doing that again! It’s not like me to get into the heat of the moment and just do something without thinking”   
“Like with the note you gave me?”  
He saw her mocking expression   
Of course she’ll bring that up!  
“Yeah like with the note, but I’m not like that”  
“I know you are not, I’m just messing with you”  
“A-And I promise it won’t happen again, I’m not getting carried away ever again”  
“You are so thoughtful it hurts really”  
“I- I don’t know much about dating, and kissing and all that stuff, but I’m pretty sure, a kiss should be a mutual agreement so I uh, I’ll make sure to ask ok? But hell what do I know! I’ve never even kissed a girl before”  
He closed his eyes and stopped rambling waiting for her to say something, anything, to just make him feel less stupid, when he felt the silence between them was getting to overbearing he decided to open his eyes and see for himself what was taking her so long to reply, only to see her struggling to pull the next words out of her mouth.  
“W-What what is it? Did I say something wrong?”  
“I just, uh Will?”  
“Yes? What’s going on?”  
He doesn’t remember a time when he had felt so nervous before, he literally wanted to run away, hide and never return  
“Will did you just said you’ve never kissed a girl before?”  
What? About everything that I just said, that’s what sticks to her? Are you kidding me?  
“Uh Yes? According you, who would’ve I kissed?”  
“Well I don’t really know, it’s just, boys tend to be how can I say this?”  
“Experienced?”  
“Yes! Experienced!”  
He blushed like crazy never in his life had he felt so stupid and naïve before  
Of course she’ll think you are an idiot, girls don’t like unexperienced guys you moron  
“I’m sorry, am not experienced at all”  
“What? No! Why are you apologizing? I didn’t say it because I think is bad! Quite the opposite actually! I think its super cute!  
“You do?”  
“Yes! That only means we’ll get to experience everything together for the first time! I- I mean if I’m not getting ahead of myself?”  
This girl would be the death of me someday  
“You are not getting ahead of yourself”  
They both looked at each other, and smiled profoundly, knowing they meant what they said, and when the first bell rang signaling the start of classes they couldn’t help but wonder, when did time ran up so fast?  
Wait a minute! Where the hell are those guys, they didn’t show up!  
“So that means your friends didn’t show up?”  
“Weird, but they didn’t”  
“Maybe they saw us to engaged talking with each other and decided to leave?”  
“Maybe that’s what happened”  
“I’m almost sure! Come on Will, we are gonna be late”  
She reached out for his hand, he hesitated, but interlock his fingers with hers, and when they were walking down the hallways, hand in hand he sneak a peek to his side to look at her, and at that moment Will knew, that by her side, everything was gonna be ok.


	7. A date?

A date?  
Will’s POV

“Dude your girlfriend is like super cool”  
Thursday afternoon, after a very long school day Will found himself seating down on a couch on the Wheeler’s basement with the rest of the party there.  
“Thanks I guess?” Dustin was a real pain, but he knew his game alright, the least he reacted the faster they’ll stop nagging, he wasn’t gonna give them what they wanted.  
“So you accept she is your girlfriend then?” Asked Lucas  
“I already explained what’s going on, so yeah basically I’m letting you guys jump to your own conclusions”  
“Meaning knock it off already you jerks” Max was a real life saver   
“But honestly guys Dustin is right she is cool the 3 of them actually” Said Mike   
“Kind” added El  
“Yeah really kind” continued Mike  
It was true though, honestly Will couldn’t deny that the minute Jennifer suggested all of them to have lunch together he was losing his mind, like he knew she was nice and everything but why would her friends want to share a whole lunch period with his party? They were a bunch of nerds, he was proven wrong though, they were actually pretty nice to all of them, heck they enjoyed themselves to the point that they even invited them to eat lunch together every day from now on.  
The best part? Jennifer totally liked his friends which made him feel extra happy, she especially bonded with El and Max.  
“That’s what I’m saying! They even invited us to eat with them from now on, how much cooler can they get” Said Dustin  
“I think it’s cool and everything, but are you sure you are ok Dustin? Stacey is there after all” Asked Lucas  
Right Will remembers about that both Stacey and Dustin didn’t have the best start known back in Middle School, and the tension between them was noticeable however it slowly started to dissipate the moment they all engaged in conversation.  
“Yeah well at first I was worried she was gonna like spit on me or something, but she was actually really nice I don’t really care about what happened back then, we are in High School now”  
“She was a real bitch to you back then though, and we can’t deny that” Max said “And Yeah they are cool but I still don’t trust Stacey, she might be acting nice around us because of Jennifer people doesn’t change that easily”  
“Max might be right about that” Continued Mike “People doesn’t change from day to night, look at Troy”  
“Don’t be overdramatic guys, she just rejected a dance from me and we were in Middle School everything is fine now, they are cool so let’s try to get along with them”  
Lucas kept glancing back at Dustin, Will knew that look, it wouldn’t take long before they started arguing about something stupid  
“Dustin does that means you still like the girl?”  
There we go thought Will  
“What! No I don’t”  
“Dude you totally do, why would you want to keep on having lunch with them if it’s not that”  
“Why not? I think it’s a great opportunity for us to expand our little bubble and actually make some friends”  
“Does that means you have a problem with how our party is right now?” Angrily asked Mike  
“What? Dude you make your own assumptions I totally didn’t mean that”  
“You total-“  
“Oh my Gosh guys! Knock it off!” Intervened Max  
Idiots thought Will, locking eyes and smiling with El that was just right by his side, and yeah it was true they were idiots, but they were his idiots, and he wouldn’t trade them for anything.  
They continued arguing about God knows what for a while before Will (always the peace maker) decided enough was enough  
“Ok guys enough already” he shouted and nobody ever dare contradict Will when he was being serious.  
So happy to be me he thought

 

Jennifer’s POV

“And he is like the cutest boy ever, I’m telling you mom he is the best”  
Being able to talk with her mother has to be one of Jennifer’s favorite things in the world, she is nice and gentle and always listens to whatever she has to say no matter how silly it is, recently they hadn’t had time to talk due to her mother’s work, so when she came up to her room and told her she wanted to chat she didn’t lose time in doing so.  
“I bet he is honey, you’ve like this boy for a very long time now after all”  
“Never would I’ve thought a day were we became friends existed, I’m so happy mom”  
“So that means your dad and I are close to having a son-in-law?”  
“Well I hope so mom! We are not there yet though”  
“How did your date with him went?”  
“Oh, we haven’t had a date mom”  
“No? I misunderstood then I thought you already did”  
“No I just went to his house on Tuesday”  
“Oh yes! Hopper brought you home that day you told me about it”  
“Well that’s the closest thing to a date we’ve had”  
“Spending time alone in his house with him counts as date if you ask me”  
“Mom that was literally the first time we even spoke, that totally wasn’t a date”  
Her mom chuckled at that  
“Don’t make a habit out of spending time alone inside a boy’s house Jennifer ok?”  
“Mom you too? Judy told me exactly the same thing! Will is not that kind of guy”  
“I know he is not but boys would be boys now and forever so you have to be careful”  
“I’ll be careful mom”  
“I know he is a nice boy Joyce did a really nice job raising her kids all by herself, her husband wasn’t the best dad out there.  
“You know Will’s dad?”  
“Well yeah we went to High School together”  
“I didn’t know, was he always I don’t know, bad?”  
“Not the best boyfriend material out there I never thought Joyce would’ve end up marrying a guy like him”  
“Mrs. Joyce is such a nice lady am happy she is now married to Chief Hopper, he is also really nice”  
“Hopper huh? Yeah they totally liked each other back in High School”  
“Really? That’s so sweet”  
“It is really sweet, her boys deserve to have a responsible paternal figure in their lives”  
“And Jane is such a nice girl too”  
“I bet she is, I’m happy Hopper decided to give life a second chance”  
“You should’ve seen them having dinner together! They have such a nice family, totally reminds me of us! But with a lot more people”  
“Invite Will to have dinner with us one of this days then, your dad will be really happy to meet him at last”  
“uhh I don’t think that’s a good idea mom”  
They both laughed hard at that  
“Ok honey I should get going now, I think we had a nice time together”  
“We totally catch up”  
“We so did, I’ll go to bed now ok? Bye”  
She hugged and kissed her mom good night, she fell asleep not long after that.

Will’s POV

Friday at last! After a very long week and so many unexpected turns, Friday was finally here! Finally some peace away from school, and some time with his friends, brother and himself or so he thought, reality was he wasn’t feeling excited at all.  
“I should feel happy is Friday”   
Sometimes he really couldn’t understand himself  
“Good Morning Will”  
An Angel the sound of Jennifer’s voice was enough to make any day better for him  
“Good Morning to you too”  
“What’s wrong? You seem kind of down” She asked while taking a sit on the desk right beside him  
“I look down? I might be tired then”  
“Didn’t sleep well?”  
He thought about it for a moment, didn’t sleep? Yes he did! He went to bed early so why was he feeling so down? Or at least he was until Jennifer came in and brighten his world with a simple greeting.  
Oh I get it now! Will Byers you are a total wasteoid  
“Yeah I didn’t get enough sleep” he lied  
“Yes you did! You slept like a rock dude” mockingly added Mike appearing out of nowhere “Oh Good Morning Jennifer”  
“Hey there Mike” she said  
“Are you serious Mike? You scared the hell out of me! Don’t just appear in front of me like that!”  
“Sorry? Someone woke up cranky today” he said laughing  
“I’m not cranky”  
“Yes you are! You didn’t even eat breakfast” he jokingly said while messing Will’s hair all over  
“hahahaha s-top stop Mike I’m serious”  
The sound of Jennifer laughter made them stop what they were doing  
“You guys are so cute! I totally love how you get along so well”  
They looked at each other and smiled, of course they got along, how could they not?  
“We’ve been together since kindergarten” nonchalantly answered Mike flicking Will’s forehead  
“Ouch! Come on Mike!”  
He laughed and stood up “Mrs. Lila is coming, I’ll go sit on the front, Oh that’s right! Here Will I brought you a yogurt, eat something ok? You didn’t have breakfast” he said before retiring back to his seat  
“Thanks Mike” shouted Will  
“How nice of him” Said Jennifer  
“Yeah he is, he is a bother though” He tried to sound upset but the truth was Mike didn’t bothered him at all, their bond reminded him of the one he shared with Jonathan, really brotherly like. Mike was more of a brother than a friend, and Will wouldn’t have it any other way.  
“Liar” She said  
They both looked at each other and smiled  
“Well Good Morning class” Greeted Mrs. Lila as soon as she entered the classroom  
A round of “Good Mornings” could be heard all around, and just like that the chatting subsided, and the class started Will was so submerged paying attention and taking notes that he almost missed the last part.  
“So prepare the book report for Monday, you won’t have to do an oral presentation but I want you guys to bring something representative about the book you chose, maybe a drawing? I don’t know but originality would be rewarded, have a nice weekend” She said before leaving the classroom before the bell signaling the end of class rang.  
The book report! I totally forgot! That’s right! Mike brought Jennifer to his house on Monday with the excuse that they were now working together on their English assignment, obviously talking about that was the least they did, and he totally forgot about it during the rest of the week.  
“Well that means we have a lot of work to do” Said Jennifer  
“Right, do you know what the list of books is?”  
“Mmm, oh I remember the Three Musketeers, and was it Moby-Dick? I don’t really remember”  
“It’s ok I’ll ask Mike about the list of books later, don’t worry we’ll catch up”   
“Cool! Come on let’s go! I’ll walk you to Algebra”  
“No, I’ll walk you to Chemistry, come on” he said standing up and walking towards the door, Jennifer following right behind him.  
“I don’t want to go to my classroom right now! Let me walk you please”  
He sighed “It’s funny and I don’t really get it, but you always end up doing what you want”  
“It’s called girl-power my dear, and you have lots to learn about it” she said while holding his hand  
Recently this have become an habit between them, they would hold hands at any opportunity presented, he was hesitant at first not used to this kind of thing, but the way she reached out for his hand, and the way she intertwined her fingers with his, so happy and confident without a care in the world as if it was the most natural thing ever, ended up winning him over.  
He love the feelings he got while holding her hands, everything felt so carefree and real, it was a feeling he wanted to keep for as long as he could.  
“We are here” he said   
“Why are the school hallways so small?” she asked  
“School is not that big” He answered while removing his hand from her grip, feeling the absence as soon as he did so.  
“That means I’ll see you later then”  
“Yes, you better hurry or you’ll be late”  
“Bye” she said before running towards the opposite direction  
Will entered the classroom taking a seat on the front row, Dustin and El still weren’t there, while he waited for his friends and teacher to arrive he thought about how his Friday had a complete turn of events for the best. At first he didn’t know why he was feeling so upset about the whole thing, he understood as soon as he saw Jennifer, he didn’t care about the day exactly he was just sad that he wasn’t gonna be able to see Jennifer now that the weekend was right around the corner.  
But now, that he knew they had to work together on the assignment he had the perfect excuse to meet her, and he wasn’t letting it go to waste.  
Thank you Mike 

Jennifer’s POV 

“T-Today?”  
“Yes since we haven’t done anything for our assignment I was thinking that maybe we could go to the library after this class”  
“Sure let’s do that, it’s cool”  
The moment she heard they had to work on their English assignment Jennifer couldn’t be happier, wasting an opportunity to be more time with Will? Hell no! However she would be lying if she said she wasn’t expecting something else not that the library wasn’t cool, I mean they were supposed to work! But she was kind of expecting that maybe they could hang out a little and then work, drink a milkshake or something?  
That’s because it’s not a date you moron!  
“Cool, if we work fast we can finish today, so maybe we ca-“  
He stopped midsentence leaving her hanging  
“We can what?” she curiously asked  
“Nothing never mind, let’s do our best”  
And that’s how after class was over they found themselves inside the school’s library  
Of course he was talking about this library  
She was really trying hard to not feel disappointed, but she was expecting to go to the Public library at least, she wanted to hang out with Will outside School not inside.  
We are not hanging out! We are working remember silly?  
And boy did they work, they easily decided on The Mount of Montecristo for their Book Report, since it was book they had both already read and it only took like around a second for Will to start scribbling down and working just like any machine would.  
Soon Jennifer forgot all about feeling disappointed and actually started to have a good time working with Will, the guy was a genius! He exceled in everything he did, he was neat and took care about every single detail, it was silly because she was never eager about working on school stuff but with him even a School project was fun.  
Because you like spending time with him   
Yeah, she liked spending time with him no matter what they were doing, she didn’t care if she was inside the School’s library working on a stupid Book Report, and drawing something like a prison on a big piece of cardboard (Will was doing that, again she couldn’t even draw a stick figure to save a life), the thing is she didn’t care because she was having the time of her life right beside Will.  
It was a tiny bit dark when they finished, she was happy they were done but a tiny bit sad at the same time, she was hoping they didn’t finish, that way she could have an excuse to meet him the next day, but hey you don’t always get what you want.  
“And done” He said  
“Wow, oh my God we actually finished in just one day! This is amazing! Will you are amazing!”  
He blushed and looked away  
“Hey come on! Our Book Report isn’t exactly long, and I still need to finish up the drawing”  
“No! The Report is short, concise and precise, like you are so good with this kind of thing really! I’m amazed”  
“You are an amazing partner too” he said with a kind smile  
She blushed and smiled back  
“Thanks” she said  
“We better keep going”  
They packed all of their stuff and left the library, walking together hand in hand to the School’s entrance in complete and utter silence.  
Something is odd here she thought  
Will was supremely quiet, like quieter than usual? She didn’t know, but the boy didn’t say a single word till they were already at the entrance where by the way she was surprised to find Chief Jim Hopper.  
“I told him to come and pick us up at this hour, I figured we were gonna finish a little late, we’ll give you a ride come on”  
She did as she was told  
“Hey dad” greeted Will as he stepped inside the car  
“Hey squirt” he answered shuffling Will’s hair in the process “Hey Jennifer how are you doing?”  
“Hello Mr. Hopper, thanks for giving me a ride home”  
“What did I say about formalities? Please just call me Hopper”  
“S-Sure”  
She was worried about the ride home being uncomfortable, but it really wasn’t, she enjoyed watching Will and Hopper interaction the whole ride, she loved the way he smiled and tried to protest every time Hopper messed up with his hair, or how they would bicker about changing radio stations with the better music, she also loved how they took her into consideration in every single little argument they were having.  
“Jennifer please tell my dad there is nothing like The Clash”   
She found herself grinning like an idiot I’m happy Will has such a nice father she thought  
Soon the ride was over and she was already in front of her house  
“Thanks for the ride! I’ll see you on Monday Will”  
“You are welcome kid” answered Hopper  
But just before Jennifer opened her front door, she heard Will calling back to her  
“Jennifer wait!” he said catching up to where she was  
“Was is it Will?” she asked  
He blushed and started stuttering all over  
“Y-yeah w-well I mean”  
“Is something wrong?”  
“No! Nothing’s wrong!” he took a deep breath before proceeding “I just wanted to ask you something”  
“What is it?”  
“Well uhm. You know the movie Stand by Me?”  
“Oh the movie that’s showing on the Aladdin right now? Yes I know it!”   
His blush just continued to deepened  
Wait a minute? What’s going on?  
“Well, since we already finished our project, I just thought that maybe we could, I don’t know relax a little? Uhm maybe go to Benny’s and drink a milkshake and go to the movies afterwards?”  
Oh my God! He is inviting me to a date! A date oh my God, Jennifer come on! Answer him!  
But it seemed her thoughts weren’t in synch with her mouth, and she just continued staring at him without saying a word  
“M-maybe it was a bad idea, forget it” He disappointedly said and was about to leave, but she grabbed his arm before  
“Wait no! Sorry I just spaced out like an idiot it’s just, it took me by surprise, sorry, I want to go!”  
“Really?”  
“Yes! I totally want to go!”  
“Nice, I can come and pick you up at 1:00 P.M we can go and have lunch first”  
“Sounds perfect to me”  
“Okay cool” he nervously said, “I’ll keep going then, s-see you tomorrow”   
“Wait Will!”  
“Yes?” he asked before leaving  
“I-Is it a date?” She asked while blushing  
He smiled and looked at her before answering  
“It is a date”


	8. Because you are so very special Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How will the date turn out?

Jennifer’s POV  
\---------------------------------

Jennifer wasn’t crazy! No of course she wasn’t! Will Byers definitely asked her out on a date, never in her life did she imagined that something as magical as that would happen, after years of secretly watching him from afar without even speaking a single word to him she couldn’t believe something she has dreamed of since the beginning of her Middle School years was actually happening.   
Right now she was the happiest girl on earth her corny silly dreams taking form all on their own. This was going to be her first date and with the boy of her dreams! Everything was more than perfect!   
Well…except for one little tiny detail.  
“Call him and cancel your date honey it’ll be better that way”  
“For the last time mom No! I’m not canceling”  
“You are sick darling you can’t go out like that”  
“It’s just my period mom! Not a big deal”  
“It is a big deal, your period is not exactly generous with you”  
“Well Surprise! The pain killers and the tea you made for me are doing their job! I’m feeling so much better now”  
Her mother looked skeptically at her Jennifer knew it was useless she just knew her too well!   
“Jenn I know you really really want to go but think about it you are not feeling well”  
Jennifer felt like crying she just couldn’t understand why her period decided today was a good day to just pop out of nowhere and what she didn’t get was why it hurts so darn much this time.  
I mean yeah sometimes the first 2 days of hey cycle were not exactly the best, but this time she really felt like she was paying for something she might I’ve done on her past life.  
“But Will invited me mom he actually asked me out on a date I have to go” It was so frustrating for her I mean everything was perfect. The night before after she got home she wasn’t able to contain her excitement and ended up calling her friends heck they even helped her pick an outfit for today.  
“I know but explain to me how are you going to enjoy yourself when you are sick?”  
“I’ll make it work somehow I promise besides I still have time it’s still early” “Pain killers got to do their job” yeah right! As if  
The minute Jennifer woke up this morning she just knew it wouldn’t be her day, she woke up with so much pain on her lower abdomen it was unbearable her mom tried to make her feel better and gave her some medicines and a delicious herbal tea but she took those a couple of hours ago and she was still feeling as if she was signing her death memorial. She didn’t get why she wasn’t feeling any better yet honestly it was ridiculous.  
“All I’m telling you Jenn is that if you tell Will he’ll understand”  
“Mom! I can’t tell him I’m on my period that’s so embarrassing!”  
“You don’t have to tell him you’re on your period, just tell him you are sick”  
“That counts as lying”  
“No it doesn’t! Honey just call him and stay home”  
“Like I said before mom no! Not happening! I really want to go”  
Her mother sighed on a defeated matter  
“I don’t know why you are so stubborn but ok go ahead”  
“Really?” To say she was surprised will be an understatement because this was clearly the first time her mom gave in on a matter like this  
“As much as I want you to stay home and just rest I know it won’t happen so yeah go ahead”  
“Thanks mom! I promise I feel better already”  
“What I’m I gonna do with you?” She asked ruffling her hair  
“Love me just the way I am?”  
They both laughed   
“By the way Jenn can you call your friends and asked them to stay over tonight?”  
“Today that’s impossible mom they went out camping”  
“Camping?”  
“Yeah with the cheerleading team?”  
“Oh right I forgot you are not on the team! What to do now?”  
“About what mom?”  
“Remember your dad and I will be out for the rest of the weekend? We have a business trip”  
“Oh that’s right! I completely forgot”  
“I don’t want you to stay home all by yourself”  
“I’ll be fine mom it’s not like you guys can cancel the trip over something like this”  
Her mother looked at her before agreeing   
“You are right I’m just being paranoid, but you are big girl now huh?”  
“I’m a big girl and I’ll be fine staying all by myself don’t worry!”  
“I’ll trust you Jennifer ok? I’ll trust you to be responsible, If something happens you just need to call”  
“Yes mom, thanks”  
“Ok I’ll leave so you can rest if your pain doesn’t subside in a while take more medicine I’ll go and finish packing”  
“Thanks mom!” She said hugging her mother goodbye before she left the room  
“It doesn’t matter how bad I feel I won’t let this stop me from having the time of my life!”  
If only things where that easy when you are teenage girl, since she still got a little of time to spare she decided a nap was her best option crossing fingers her pain will be long time lost when she wakes up.

Will’s POV

\-------------------------------  
“My baby is having his first date! I’m so excited to drive you! So at what time is it exactly honey?”  
With flaming red cheeks and a lump down his throat he almost wasn’t able to answer  
“It’s at one”  
Will felt frustrated and how could he not when this was… exasperating?  
The moment they got home yesterday the last thing he was expecting was for Hopper to practically shout out to the world he had asked Jennifer Hayes out on a date.   
Well not to the world but heck telling his mother counted as the world to him. And he knew Hopper didn’t do it with a bad intention in mind, it’s just that he still doesn’t know Will well enough to understand that he is kind of…secretive?.  
Not that he hides things away from his family and friends but there are some things he’ll rather not tell…specifically to his mother.  
“Sorry kid, had I known Joyce was this kind of mother I would’ve kept my mouth shout”  
“What do you mean by this kind of mother?”  
“Uhh maybe the embarrassing type? Joyce just give the kid a break already let him have fun and enjoy his date alone”  
“Hopper he’ll be alone! I’m just offering to drive them off”  
“So that you can stay and keep an eye on him, Joyce we got past through this stage already”  
Will payed close attention to them he hated when his parents argued but he specially hated it when it was about something related to him. He knew that after his bad experience on the Upside Down things at home never returned to the way they used to be even after some peaceful years.  
And he couldn’t judge his mother for becoming overly protective in fact it was something he perfectly understood so he just gave in and accepted it.   
But he was fifteen now and he couldn’t deny that sometimes he just wanted his own space like in this case for example? He really wanted to be able to go out on a date with the girl he likes without having to deal with his mother, he wasn’t asking for more than a little independency.  
“It’s his first date Hopper! I just want to drive them and…”  
“Keep an eye on them? Joyce get on your son’s shoes of coarse he doesn’t wants you there just let him go by himself”  
His mother locked eyes with him asking an unspoken question   
“I-I mom please just this once please let me go out alone” He didn’t want to make his mom feel bad about anything but he really wanted to do this himself  
“Joyce please, he’ll be fine”  
“Ok”  
“I promise I’ll be good and I’ll behave and… wait you said its fine?”  
“Yes, I said it’s ok for you to go all by yourself”  
“R-really?”   
“Yes, honey I’m sorry it’s not my intention to be this overbearing with you, it’s just… I just want you to be safe but Hopper is right, you are fifteen now you are big boy of course you don’t want me pestering you all the time, you are responsible and mature there is no reason for me for not letting you go out yourself”  
“Mom I- thanks thank you so much!”  
“Go out and have fun ok?”  
“I sure will”  
“Now that that’s settled its time for me to go to work, you want a lift Joyce?”  
“Yeah just let me get my purse”  
The moment Joyce left the room Will lost no time and tackled Hopper with a big bear hug  
“Ho- I mean dad thanks a lot”  
He returned the hug and smiled down at him  
“Anytime kid anytime”

Jennifer’s POV   
\-----------------------------------------------

She woke up almost crying it was as if sleeping actually made everything worst instead of helping, her lower abdomen hurts so darn much and she felt slightly feverish. She took a look at her alarm clock it was 12 P.M. already that meant she had an hour to get ready so reluctantly she got out of bed.  
“You can do this Jennifer! Its ok you’ll have fun” as much as she wanted to convince herself about it, something on the back of her mind kept telling her that maybe calling Will and cancelling wasn’t such a bad idea anymore.  
Her pretty pink dress hanging on her closet door didn’t look so nice for her anymore. “Maybe a dress is not my best option today”.  
Yesterday when she called her friends the two of them had been together and they tried to help her out picking just the perfect outfit for today. Jennifer was excited when she found the dress it was cute without any pattern, just a plain V-neck pink dress.  
In Stacey and Judy’s words “You don’t need to wear something extraordinary to impress him Jennifer Will is a simple guy, so just be casually sexy”  
They explained to her that the best thing she could do was to keep her dress code as simple as possible making sure she highlighted her best attributes.  
On her case? Well she was blessed on her chest area so the dress totally sealed the deal for her.  
Not anymore though, so she kept going through her closet looking for something a little more…comfy?  
“Screw “casually sexy” I don’t feel sexy at all” Everything hurt so much and she was feeling so sick she didn’t even bothered that much with her clothes anymore.  
She ended up wearing a pair of blue jeans and an oversized pink hoodie.  
“I hope Will doesn’t mind” She really wanted to look pretty, but didn’t had the energy to do so which was incredibly frustrating considering this was her first date.  
Maybe crying wasn’t such a bad move after all  
She put on mascara and a little bit of blush just to make her pale skin look a little livelier, in all honestly the only thing she wanted was for Will not to find out no way was she missing this date, just no way.

Will’s POV

\-------------------------------------------------  
He knew something was awfully wrong the moment he saw her. And it’s not that he was expecting her to be jumping out of joy or anything, but he also wasn’t expecting her to look so…down? Tired?  
Her sad looking eyes, her now pale face, her discouraged attitude and just her whole choice of clothes of coarse something was off.  
And don’t get him wrong she looked pretty as hell that pink hoodie was a total thumbs up for him, but he knew that wouldn’t be an everyday outfit choice coming from her.  
You didn’t have to be a genius to understand she wasn’t feeling well, then again she climbed to the back of his bike hurrying him to come over.  
“It’s ok for me to ride with you on your bike right? You are so taking me right?”  
“Yeah, if you don’t mind riding with me?”  
“Come on! Take us to Benny’s”  
She was trying so hard to hide it, that his heart couldn’t help but to skip a beat at that he knew how hard it was to pretend everything was alright when reality told otherwise. So he wasn’t gonna discourage her, he’ll keep pretending he didn’t know for just a little bit longer.  
With a bright smile on his face he told her  
“Ok Jennifer hold on tight! We are leaving”

Jennifer’s POV  
\------------------------------------------------  
Jennifer was convinced her façade was working Will hadn’t even noticed to begin with, besides the moment he stepped outside her house she started feeling a lot better.  
When she went out to greet him he was just standing there with his blue jeans and stripped red and black sweatshirt fixing his sleeves looking so cute and freaking adorable.  
And when he laid his eyes on her and told her she looked pretty with a rosy shade of pink adorning his cheeks she almost believed him, almost. If it weren’t for the fact that she wasn’t feeling pretty at all not today.  
She kept blushing during their whole ride to Benny’s, her whole body being pressed to his warm back she was sure Will was able to listen to her frantic heart beat and it was oh so embarrassing but felt so nice and soothing all the same.  
She wanted nothing more but to time to stop and capture this moment for the rest of her life, honestly this was something she could totally get used to.  
But everything nice quickly gets to an end, and when they arrived she instantly missed the feeling of them being pressed so close together.  
“Come on Jennifer lets go”

Will’s POV  
\----------------------------------------------  
He was sure he had never pedaled so fast in his life before because he made it all the way to Benny’s in record time. Riding a bike with a pretty girl pressed on his back was something he could totally get used to, but it wasn’t doing any good to his teenage mind.  
But just tell me how he was supposed to concentrate on anything else when Jennifer Hayes, the girl he has forever liked was pressing her whole body (an in her whole body) to his back while riding his bike.  
No matter how innocent, he is still a healthy fifteen year old hormonal boy for God’s sake! This was too much for him to handle.   
“And to think Mike does this with El so often” he thought  
“How is it going Will? I see you came in company of a pretty lady today, a seat for two?”  
“Hey Benny! It’s good to see you! This is Jennifer and she-?  
“I’m Will’s date today!” Intervened Jennifer before he was able to finish the sentence (Not that he even knew what he was gonna say anyway)  
“Oh? Our little guy is growing up huh? Nice to meet you missy”  
Will ignored the comment completely   
Benny showed them to their table and gave a menu each  
“I’ll have one of my guys come and take your orders shortly, Are you taking the usual Will?”  
“Yes please”  
“Ok then, please excuse me”  
Will noticed Jennifer’s curious gaze over him  
“Spill, what are you thinking?”  
“N-nothing! It’s just…Do you come here often?”  
“I do, Benny is one of Hopper’s closest friends, and the boys really like it here too”  
“Is that so? I really love it here! But my friends are always on a “Diet” so I rarely come”  
“Y-you are not on a diet or anything right?”  
“hahaha no way! I love food way too much”  
“Thanks God”  
He was relieved though, because he knew nothing about dates and the last thing he needed was knowing he screwed up because he didn’t know if Jennifer ate this kind of food or not.   
“Now that I think about it, you didn’t even asked her what she wanted to do you, you made plans yourself, inconsiderate fool”  
“Sorry”  
“Huh? What are you sorry for?”  
“It’s just that now that I think about it I just made plans myself, I didn’t even asked you what you wanted to do, I didn’t even know if you liked this place or not!”  
“What are you saying? That’s the part I loved the most! You taking control out of the whole situation? That’s pretty hot!” She said while winking an eye   
It made him laugh so much He didn’t even think “him and hot” combined on the same sentence.  
“You could’ve taken me….I don’t know, to watch cars pass down by a street? And I still would’ve been happy! I just love spending time with you no matter what”   
When it came to this kind of things Will really was no good, being a speechless blushing mess.  
Worst part? She was a blushing mess too expecting him to say something, anything!  
“I-I”  
“Good afternoon my name is James and I’ll be taking your order today”  
“Saved by the bell” he thought   
“Crap I didn’t see the menu! Please give me a second” Said Jennifer  
“Perfect Miss, what about you Mr.? Is there anything else you’ll like?”   
“No thanks I’m good”  
“I’ll come back in a second” He said while taking his leave  
Will saw Jennifer’s mortified expression, and at this moment he didn’t if it was due to the fact that she was so obviously sick, or if it was his lack of response. Anyways he decided not to risk it.  
“Watching cars pass down by a street sounds like fun…if I’m with you I mean”  
Will was so embarrassed but the look she gave back to him, with her eyes shining so bright and hopeful? Yeah it was totally worth it.  
But before she was able to reply, James came back with a big milkshake in hand  
“This runs by the house it’s an extra big strawberry and vanilla milkshake, for the cute couple”  
They both exchanged shy glances and giggled  
“Thanks for the milkshake!” answered Jennifer  
“Have you looked through the menu miss? Is there anything you’ll like?”  
“I’m good with the milkshake thank you very much”  
“You sure Jennifer? Are you not hungry?”  
“No I’m good, thanks Will”  
“Ok then, I’ll come back in a minute with your order then Mr.” He said while leaving the milkshake on the top of the table, with two straws in it.  
She immediately took a sip  
“It’s delicious Will! You have to try it!”  
“No it’s ok you can have it”  
“Not even just a sip?”  
She was giving him that puppy eye look, that famous look that promised to get you anything you want, and it does work.  
“I’ll just try a little then”  
When he bent in to try it out she did the exact same thing, so they ended up sipping at the same time  
“There we go! Now we are acting like a real couple”  
He blushed upon himself, she did it on purpose and he fell for it   
“You did it on purpose!” he said  
“Well yes, it’s not like you would’ve agreed to do so! But now Will Byers we just shared our first indirect kiss ever, I’m so happy” The way she said it sounded so casual, he couldn’t help but laugh.  
How was she able to say all those sappy things without even a hint of embarrassment? He wasn’t sure. But that’s what made Jennifer unique, and he loved it.  
“Make sure to share more of those with me then, because this tastes pretty good” he said while taking a full sip  
“Hey! That’s not fair!”  
And just like that time passed between them, chatting, joking around and laughing it felt so casual and natural to be around her. As corny as it sounds he felt as if he has known her since forever.  
And he would’ve kept on talking and talking not wanting to leave, if it weren’t for the fact that she occasionally winced in pain. A reminder she was indeed sick.

Jennifer’s POV  
\-----------------------------------------------------  
Will didn’t let her pay if that wasn’t enough to move a girl to tears, then she didn’t know what could. He was so nice, and chivalrous, and charming and too cute for his own good.  
God he loves Will Byers! She just did. She was having so much fun she occasionally forgot about her pain and she was planning to do so for the rest of the evening…Or so she thought.  
“We are not going to the movies?”  
“Mmm. No I think is better if I take you home”  
Jennifer kept saying she felt like crying, but right now she was sure she indeed was crying.   
“A-Are you not having fun? Was it something I did?”  
“What? No of course not! Wait please don’t cry! You didn’t do anything wrong I’m having so much fun with you” He told her while cupping her cheeks with his hands.  
An action that was so un-Will like that actually made her feel slightly better.  
“Then what’s wrong?” she asked  
He sighed and looked directly to her eyes  
“Well I think it’s better if I take you home to rest, because somebody decided to come and play along even though she is not feeling good”  
“Oh” she thought  
“So, all this time you knew? Was it that obvious?”   
“Yeah, and I appreciate your effort, you are so brave I’m moved but you need to go home and rest now”  
She thought about it for a second, was she still on pain? Yeah, but did she want her date to end? No way  
“I-I want us to watch the movie together”  
“It’s ok, we’ll leave it for next time ok?”  
“No! I want us to go now”  
“B-but”  
“I’m just on my period! Not a big-“Yeah she said that out loud   
“I-I mean, yeah! It’s just my period” She told him blushing furiously, however with the new piece of information, Will didn’t even flinch.  
“More reason to take you home then, come on lets go”  
He said it in such an autorative way that he left no chance of an argument.  
And so keeping true to his word, he took her home and they got there pretty quickly  
“Thanks for today, I really had fun and it’s not that I wanted it to end but I really want you to enjoy without feeling any pain, we'll go out again when you are better ok?  
And just like that before she was able to stop herself she said the brightest thing ever!  
“Please spend the night with me”   
“Well crap” she thought

**Author's Note:**

> So I posted this on ff.net and decided to give it a try in here  
> I hope it'll be well received :)  
> lets give Will Byers the love he deserves!


End file.
